The Chase
by Ya Boy Guzma
Summary: Looker defeated Team Galactic, but now it's time for a new mission. Six old men, once leaders of the criminal Team Plasma, are on the run, and Looker must hunt the fugitives down and arrest them. But Looker won't be in Unova long before he realises it isn't so simple, and as a conspiracy unravels around him, is this a mission too far for the illustrious Detective?
1. A New Mission

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy.**

 **Now if some of you are thinking that you may have seen this before, it's possible. Back in the day I had another account where this fic was my pride and joy, the epic piece I was building up to finish. Personal life got in the way, however, and made me quit Fanfiction for a while; now I'm back, I wanted to finish what I started, and wanted to update (but not totally rewrite) this to fix some of the little flaws younger me was blind to. So here we are!**

 **To any who have returned, I'm glad you're here, but to all who are new to my work, welcome! This is inspired by Looker's misadventures in Unova, hunting down the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. There will be action, chase scenes, explosions, acts of a badass nature and some tomfoolery to boot, and I hope you enjoy this fic- its prequel, the story of Looker versus Galactic, will be due shortly!**

 **I hope you enjoy...**

A light early morning breeze blew through Veilstone City, picking up the leaves on the ground and twirling them around in a miniature blustery tornado. It was very quiet in the city. There were a couple of shoppers, arms already laden with shopping bags, sat outside the Department Store having a coffee and a natter. There was a small group of hungover, grumpy men outside the Game Corner, tired after spending the night gambling their cash away on the slot machines. And, as always, there was a gaggle of small children around the entrance to the Veilstone Gym, many disappointed at not being able to win against Maylene, a few lucky ones parading their badges around and celebrating as if they'd won the Sinnoh League. Otherwise, Veilstone was quiet.

From his bench outside the Pokemon Centre, one man watched the world pass by through his deep brown eyes, occasionally adjusting his black, combed over hair as the breeze messed it up. He was dressed smartly- he wore a white shirt with a black tie, black trousers and shoes and a burgundy waistcoat, with a long brown overcoat over the top. If you passed him by, you would have thought he was a lawyer, or perhaps a casually-dressed businessman. He was neither. He was Looker, Detective of the International Police. And he was relaxing.

For the past few months, Looker had been in Sinnoh investigating the shady Galactic Corporation, a company who seemed to be researching methods of providing cheap, clean and renewable energy throughout the Sinnoh region. However, in his investigations Looker had uncovered Team Galactic, an evil organisation whose boss, a rich philanthropist called Cyrus, was intent on destroying the universe and building a new one in his image. He had come very close too; at Spear Pillar atop Mount Coronet, Cyrus had nearly destroyed creation itself with a Red Chain and the power of Dialga and Palkia. Only with the timely intervention of Looker, three young Trainers from Twinleaf Town, the Champion of Sinnoh and the Legendary Pokemon Giratina itself had Cyrus been defeated. The would-be destroyer of worlds was now trapped in a separate, sealed off dimension ruled by Giratina; Cyrus was out of Looker's reach, but there was no chance he would return to the real world any time soon.

But had Looker's job been done then? Of course not. The remnants of Team Galactic, led by the corrupt scientist Charon, had nearly awakened the Legendary Heatran at Stark Mountain, nearly causing a catastrophic volcanic eruption that would have destroyed Sinnoh. However, the operative word there was nearly; once again Looker had stopped them in their tracks in the nick of time, and now, finally, Team Galactic were down. Out for the count. Sinnoh appeared to be safe.

Looker sighed, his gaze shifting briefly to the north of Veilstone, where, on a high hillside, an imposing and quite frankly ugly building loomed over the city. Galactic's headquarters remained; ex-Commander Saturn, whose dedication to Cyrus' cause had appeared questionable at times to Looker during the investigation, was now actually running the Team as a renewable energy corporation. Of the other Commanders, Mars and Jupiter had disappeared to some unknown backwater of the world, Charon was under arrest, and Cyrus was trapped far, far away. It may not have gone perfectly, but in Looker's eyes, everything was truly over.

Beside Looker on the bench was his Croagunk, his sole Pokemon. Ever since Looker and Croagunk met each other on the first day of Police Academy, on the day trainee Detectives were assigned partner Pokemon, they had formed a stunning team, one that many Detectives in the force feared. But even these two had their vices, and Croagunk was currently showing his, sat beside Looker having a cigarette.

Looker sighed. "Put that out," he said softly, in a strange accent. There were hints of Spanish, Italian, French and all manner of other dialects in there somewhere, but his colleagues simply described his accent as 'foreign', a product of Looker trying to pick up numerous languages to blend in as a local in many regions of the world. "I thought we agreed neither of us would smoke? It's a dirty habit."

Croagunk shrugged, but didn't stop smoking. Instead, he pointed at the Veilstone Gym, and the gathering of people outside it. "Croa."

"What do you see?" Looker murmured, straining his eyes to see.

Croagunk rolled his eyes, before pointing again. First he pointed at a celebrating youngster, about 12 years old, clutching a shiny object that could only be a gym badge. Then he pointed at a group of three 16 year olds, skulking in a corner, talking among themselves and glaring at the celebrator. "Gunk."

Looker put two and two together. This happened a lot outside Gyms all over the world- some cocky person who had just won would pick a fight with someone who'd lost, or some jealous people would wait for a winner and ambush them for their winnings. "Do you think we should move them along?"

Croagunk gave a shrug. Over the years Looker had grown adept at interpreting Croagunk's body language and shrugs (as a Detective, you had to at least be able to understand your partner Pokemon's body language, if not their actual spoken tongue); this one said (roughly, of course) 'You're the policeman, you do whatever. But it's your ass on the line if it goes wrong'.

Looker tutted. "Fine," he said. "My ass on the line. I get it. Let's do it."

The duo got up and strolled over. There was quite a substantial crowd of young Trainers outside the Gym, but Looker made his way over to the group of sullen teens, and walked up to their leader, a burly older boy with muscles that wouldn't have looked out of place in Maylene's Fighting-type Gym. "Good morning! How did your challenge go?"

The youth glared at him. "How d'ya think? Maylene gave us a kicking!"

Looker pretended to look sympathetic, and laughed in his head at how the youth tried to make himself look intimidating. "Oh no! That's a shame! Never mind though, you can always try again next time!"

The youth ignored this. "That little shit over there, look boys. Just cause he won, he thinks he's so tough."

The others grunted, still fixed on staring at the victorious kid, completely forgetting the presence of Looker.

The leader continued. "He ain't so tough, look at him. Wait till he steps into the alley, we'll kick the shit out of him boys."

"Oh really?" Looker put on a surprised face. "Because you'll have to go through me to do that."

For the first time the trio took in Looker properly, and sneered at him.

"You?" the leader said. "What chance do you have against us three, old man?"

"Old? Me? Do I look Bertha's age to you? And it won't be easy for you three, will it Croagunk?"

Croagunk made a 'Don't look at me' face.

The leader scoffed. "Pah! One pathetic little Croagunk? Are you serious? My Psychic-type Kadabra has a 4x type advantage! We'll take you out, then kick the shit out of the kid."

Looker smiled at the type advantage threat, as Croagunk rolled his eyes at being called pathetic. Did the kids really think he hadn't thought of that? As Croagunk was his only Pokemon, he knew all his weaknesses and strengths, and to overcome Croagunk's major Psychic weakness Looker had taught him Sucker Punch and Faint Attack, two powerful Dark-type moves. Not only that, but Croagunk had survived being able to take on the best of Team Galactic; the pair could easily take the youths in a fight and a battle.

But Looker wasn't going to do that. "So we're going to play it like that?" He reached into his pocket to pull out his ID, the plastic card that identified him as a detective of the International Police, and his Police badge. "Then I guess you'll have to come to the station with me. Detective Looker, International Police."

Croagunk tried not to smile at the shocked looks on the youths' faces, and failed. They had been played like the fools they were.

"A p-p-policeman?" stammered one of the leader's friends, his bravado suddenly gone and a squeak in his voice. "Oh shit!"

"That's right," said Looker. "Now do I have to arrest you for malicious lingering, threats to assault a police officer and obstructing a police officer in his duty? Or are you just going to leave now?"

The trio looked at each other, then backed away, fast, before turning the corner out of Looker's sight. He heard their footsteps increase in pace as they ran away though. They weren't coming back any time soon.

"Good work Croagunk," he said, smiling, pocketing his ID card, as Croagunk grinned and offered him a fist-bump.

As they walked away from the Gym, job well done, Looker's phone started ringing in his pocket, so he pulled it out quickly. "Detective Looker speaking."

"I know, otherwise I wouldn't have rung you, genius."

Looker smiled at the sarcastic reply. That was definitely the boss.

There were two main sections to the International Police; not many people knew that. Of course, there were the Police, the men and women who patrolled cities and towns, and kept a watchful eye over things, but when the going got tough the other branch, the Detectives, jumped into action and led the investigations. The commander of the Detective Department was Chief Inspector Charles LaDieux, Looker's overall superior and an ageing veteran who treated his officers well. It was LaDieux who commanded all detectives in all regions, and LaDieux who personally assigned Looker to the Galactic case, telling Looker to report everything directly to him.

"How are you sir?" Looker asked.

"Not bad Looker, though I'm getting a bit bored, sat here in this comfy office chair while my officers chase criminals and have all the fun."

"If you call being attacked by Golbat and spacemen with weird blue hair fun."

"At least you're out in the fresh air. I can FEEL myself putting on weight." Looker laughed at this. "Actually Looker, the Galactic case is the reason why I'm calling you."

"Sir?"

"The Commanders are all accounted for. We arrested Mars and Jupiter yesterday, trying to board a flight to Hoenn. I think it's safe to say with the evidence we possess, thanks to your efforts, that a successful trial is inevitable and only a matter of time. Case closed. However…"

"Sir?"

"I am of the opinion we need a man of your talents elsewhere Looker. The rest of the Police can handle what remains of the situation in Sinnoh perfectly well without you, and I have a new case I'd like you on."

"Really sir?" If he was being totally honest, Looker would admit that he was getting bored in Sinnoh. He hated all the admin work after an investigation, preferring the action and the chase, and everything had been quiet for about a week. He'd done a bit of travelling, trained Croagunk a bit, and lost a little of his paycheck in the Veilstone Game Corner, but there was in all seriousness nothing left for him in Sinnoh. His job was done, and LaDieux was right; it was time to move on.

"You sound wary Looker."

"No, no! I'm curious sir! What's the new case?"

"Well, are you aware of the Unova region to the north? I take it you are. Anyway, recently another Team, called Team Plasma, tried to take over Unova and nearly succeeded. You weren't aware, what with all the Galactic trouble, and I thought I would spare you the concern in case you decided to abandon Sinnoh and hot-foot it to Unova, but yes. Team Plasma almost took over the Unova Pokemon League with the region's Legendary Pokemon. Unova nearly crumbled."

"No way..."

"Yes way. Now, Team Plasma's leadership is very complex. At the top is the King, N, who is on the run at the moment. It is my belief, however, based on reports from our Unovan colleagues, that N was being manipulated into making decisions to take over Unova by his father, Ghetsis Harmonia. With me so far, Looker?"

"I… believe so, sir."

"Good. Now, within Team Plasma, Ghetsis is de facto leader of the Seven Sages, seven old men who are N's immediate advisors and next in command in the Team Plasma hierarchy. Most Team Plasma members think they are allied to the King, but really it's the Sages who run the show with Ghetsis- they determine the cause and direction of Team Plasma. Got that?"

"I understand."

"Now, the police situation is tricky. We stopped Plasma at the last possible minute, thanks to the Gym Leaders of Unova, but the manner in which they were stopped was a mess. We have arrested Ghetsis, and Unova has sent officers in pursuit of N, but six of the Sages are still at large, on the run from the Police."

"So what's my job?"

"Your mission-"

"Should I choose to accept it?"

LaDieux sighed on the end of the phone. "I'm being serious here Looker. But yes, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to hunt down the six remaining Sages of Team Plasma. Arrest them for me, gather evidence from them, and bring them to justice. They have scattered across the region, and it'll be difficult work finding them, so I need a capable man, a man I can trust."

"Interesting..." mused Looker. This sounded like a pursuit case, different to the data collection that was the heart of the Galactic case, and it was a refreshing change. "I'm tempted."

"Good. You and Croagunk are booked on a flight out of Jubilife City tomorrow morning, landing in Unova's Mistaltron City at noon."

Looker paused, frowning. "Sir, you haven't really given me a choice here."

"I know. You are definitely going on this mission." LaDieux chuckled on the other end of the line. "Look Looker, it's six old men to chase, when you boil it down. It'll be easy once you find them, trust me."

"Sure?"

"I'm pretty positive of that so far. Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. Do this well, and I'll personally ensure you're not only shortlisted for a Medal of Honour, but that you receive one. You are overdue it, in my eyes, and don't say something like 'but sir, it's corrupt to pull strings like that'. You know you deserve it."

Looker thought for a moment. "Can I have double pay afterwards, too?"

LaDieux's laugh was much louder this time. "You drive a hard bargain Detective Looker! Alright, double pay, and the medal. And you know what, I'm feeling generous. I'll throw in a 2 week holiday afterwards. Paid, of course."

Looker grinned as wide as Croagunk. "You're the best boss."

"I know. Is it a deal then?"

"Deal."

"Excellent! Now, enjoy your last day in Sinnoh! I hope it goes well in Unova!"

LaDieux hung up, and Croagunk looked expectantly up at Looker.

"LaDieux stood us down. Our Galactic mission is finally over," Looker said, as Croagunk smiled; he could tell his partner was bored of Sinnoh. "We have a new one now instead."

Croagunk made an 'Oh really?' face. "Gun cro?"

"You know the Unova region? We go there tomorrow, to track down and arrest six old men who tried to take down the Unovan government."

Croagunk pondered for a moment, before nodding, looking interested with it. "Croa!"

"Glad you like the sound of it," Looker said, smiling. "Now come on. Last day in Sinnoh, let's hit the town." Croagunk made a face at him. "Alright, I'll buy you a drink. But just the one, okay?" Croagunk smiled at him. "Let's go."

Looker and Croagunk walked off in the direction of the Veilstone Department Store, to spend their last day in Sinnoh well before they flew off to Unova on a new mission. Truth be told, they both needed a breath of fresh air. But one thing was for sure; it wasn't quite as simple as LaDieux had them believe…

 **A/N- And there we go. A nice little bridge between Generation 4 and 5 for Looker and Croagunk. Obviously if I write Gen 6 Looker at any point, Croagunk won't be around as a partner (well, he isn't in the games), but I like having the partner dynamic for now.**

 **Next time, we arrive in Unova! What fun awaits us there I wonder...**

 **If you want to favourite/follow this to see how it goes, or me to see my other stuff, I'd be very grateful, but as always I'm most grateful for reviews. So long as there's no flaming, I'll love any praise and learn from any constructive criticism.**

 **Thank you all for reading!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	2. Welcome to Unova

**A/N: And here we are, Chapter 2. The first fic ya boy's ever done more than one chapter for- don't worry, there's plenty more to come.**

 **Last time, we saw Looker and Croagunk learn of their new mission- I think it's about time we got them into a new region, don't you? Unova, and the start of Looker's mission to capture the Sages, beckons...**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

 **(***)**

Looker's last day in Sinnoh had been quiet, to all intents and purposes; there really was no other way of describing it. No big celebration with all the people he'd met in Sinnoh during his time chasing Galactic, no madcap send-off party with Croagunk. Sure, he'd gone to the pub with Croagunk, just for one last drink, and he'd played his last game in the Game Corner, but Looker had woken up early in the morning looking forward to a new start, in a new region, on a new mission without a Team Galactic Grunt in sight. He'd miss some people in Sinnoh, but it was about time to move on.

Now, after an uneventful flight out of Jubilife, he was here. Unova. He'd arrived at Mistaltron City Airport, the largest airport in Unova and indeed the world, with all the hustle and bustle of a small city backed between the depressing concrete walls, and collected his baggage quietly. Now, he was looking for his ride. LaDieux had said the Unova Police would send someone to collect him especially...

Ah, there. Looker spotted the policeman in the distance across the hall, waiting in the arrivals lobby for him. The man was very young (Looker guessed nineteen, probably a new recruit), and about average height. He wore the standard International Police uniform, immaculately clean, but no hat, which would have obscured his spiked up brown hair. Looker gave him a once over and noticed that despite his medium build, there were the outlines of some serious muscles underneath the uniform; this guy was strong.

"Come on," Looker said to Croagunk, who nodded, and they wheeled their luggage over to the policeman. As Looker got closer, he realised Croagunk was laughing; their lift had made a sign to let Looker know he was there for him, but in his haste the ink had run, and instead of 'Looker', the sign read 'Hooker'.

As yet another passenger shot a disgusted look at the Policeman to his bewilderment, Looker cleared his throat, and the Policeman spun around, looking at Looker with startling orange eyes unlike anything the Detective had ever seen before dashing forward.

"Ah! You're Detective Looker!" he said warmly, offering his hand. "Welcome to Unova!"

Looker shook his hand, noting the strength of the grip. "Thank you. Yes, I am Detective Looker." He produced his ID, just to prove it. "And this here's Croagunk." Croagunk nodded at the policeman. "And you are..."

The policeman saluted with one hand and gave Looker his ID with the other. "Officer Reece Davis sir! The Commissioner sent me to come get you and bring you to Castelia HQ for briefing."

"Officer Davis," Looker said, scrutinising the ID, "this says you're eighteen."

Another salute. "I'd prefer Reece sir, if that's all the same to you. And it's okay to be confused sir; in Unova, you can join the Police at sixteen."

"Ah," Looker nodded, understanding. "Of course, I forgot that the entry requirements differ between regions. Thank you, Reece. Now, shall we head to Castelia?"

"Right away sir!" Salute.

Looker sighed. "Reece, please stop with the sir. I'd prefer Looker. And you don't have to salute every time."

"No problem!" As they walked towards the exit, Reece continued, "Say, do you know why people are looking at me in a funny way? Do people in Sinnoh not like the Police or something?"

Croagunk smiled, before flipping Reece's sign around so he could see how his ink had run.

Reece grinned sheepishly. "Oh whoops! Not the best sign to carry around!" He threw it in a bin, and looked embarrassed, much to Croagunk's enjoyment.

By now they had reached Reece's car, a Police liveried Lincoln Towncar. Croagunk bundled the luggage into the boot, before he slid into the back seat and fell asleep to recover from the flight, while the humans got in the front and Reece drove the Towncar away from the airport.

The drive took an hour, thanks to Reece flicking the siren on and cutting through the traffic at speed (not strictly within regulation, Looker noted, but he wouldn't complain), and it was very interesting to Looker. For starters, he got to see a huge amount of Unova, and realised how varied the region was. Reece's route took him past the Chargestone Cave, which Reece said had 'huge fluctuating magnetic fields that mess the place up', and into Driftveil City, the bustling industrial port city and one of the few places he knew something about. The Driftveil Drawbridge was swung open for the Police car, and after passing through windswept meadows they passed through the vibrant Nimbasa City, and south through the hot deserts of Route 4 into Castelia. Such variety in Unova blew Looker away, quietly impressed in the passenger seat.

Looker got out and ate his packed lunch as the world flew by- he always brought one with him everywhere- and he chatted with Reece to pass the time, mostly about Looker's mission to stop Team Galactic in Sinnoh, which Reece was hugely impressed by. He in turn gave Looker quite a lot of valuable information; little titbits about landmarks they passed, and concise histories of each city they went through. Plus, he helped Looker recognise several of the Unovan species of Pokemon they passed on their journey- by the end of it Looker could identify Sandile, Swanna, Deerling, and a few more from his car window, and was starting to expand his knowledge with a Pokedex Reece owned.

"Here we are," Reece called out suddenly, waking Croagunk. "Castelia City."

As Looker and Croagunk stared in silent awe out of the car window, the towers loomed everywhere, piercing shards of metal and glass that rose into the clouds, high above the rest of the metropolis. The streets were packed with cars and commuters, yet somehow through the busy throng of people the Police Towncar made it to a nondescript tower in the midst of a cluster of skyscrapers in the inner city. It was, at only ten storeys high, dwarfed by the others, and looked like a normal office block, but this was the HQ of the Unova Police; this was home sweet home for Looker's investigation.

Getting out of the Towncar, Looker and Croagunk followed Reece inside the glass automatic doors, where they were greeted by a wizened old desk sergeant whose name badge read 'Forsyth'.

Reece saluted. "Sergeant Forsyth sir! Brought Detective Looker here to meet the Commissioner, sir!"

"Eh, what?" croaked the old man Forsyth, standing up to squint at Looker and Croagunk through misty grey eyes, before he remembered. "Ah yes, Looker! Right this way if you please."

Croagunk mock-saluted, and Looker kicked out at him for his sarcasm as Forsyth showed them to an elevator.

"All the way up," said Reece as the lift doors slid shut. "The Commissioner's office is floor 10."

"What's it like here?"

"Not bad. We're close to a few of the good local restaurants, and we are very successful here when we get a case..."

"I sense a 'but' here, Reece."

"Yeah. There really aren't that many cases, despite us being the centre of Police in Unova. Plus, the Police gets about half the funding of the Fire Brigade and the Rangers, when you add it up, so we're very short staffed."

"You're about five foot nine, I wouldn't call that short."

"Ha!"

The lift doors slid open as the bell pinged, and Looker let Reece lead the way. Three Police officers in a line saluted him as he came in, following Reece to a desk in the middle of the room with the sign 'Commissioner of Unova' on it, and the swivel chair behind it turned...

Thomas Aurelius, Police Commissioner for Unova, sprawled in his reclining office chair, a very large man with a very large gut. He was completely bald, with blue eyes that peered at Looker over wire-rimmed glasses, and idly played with a broken bit of the armrest as he stared.

Looker saluted, after a moment's awkward pause, and handed over his ID. "Detective Looker, sir. Sent by the International Police to take over the Seven Sages case."

"Hm," Aurelius grunted, looking at the ID. "Do you have a first name, Looker?"

Looker shook his head- this happened every time he had to introduce himself. "No sir. My real parents called me Looker before I was orphaned. The adoption agency didn't tell me their surname, and I didn't want my foster surname. So I stuck with just Looker."

"How peculiar. Well, I suppose that explains it. Anyway, welcome to Unova, Detective. This is now your assignment, your jurisdiction, your job to get this done. I'll introduce you to your team and brief you, then you can begin."

He pointed at Reece, not getting out of his chair. "You already know Officer Davis. Our youngest recruit, he's a jack of all trades, master of none. He's pretty new to this, so teach him well. And of course, you've met our desk sergeant Forsyth, the man in charge of admin."

Aurelius moved on to a raven-haired Chinese girl, whose big black eyes were framed by big black-rimmed specs and a shy smile. She didn't look the loudest, or most confident, but she oozed intelligence. "This is Corporal Maeda. She's our strongest Pokemon battler, not through brawn, but through brains." She smiled at Looker.

Next came a very muscly, towering man, who looked older than Looker. He had a rugged face, oddly coloured messy hair that almost appeared light blue in the light, and small eyes set deep into his skull; with the strain of the muscles under his uniform and the fierce determined look he appeared to wear, Looker made a mental note to keep in his good books. "This is Corporal Schulz, our interrogation officer, aid to prosecuting lawyers, and is a strong physical presence to boot." Schulz nodded, somewhat curtly.

Finally, Aurelius introduced a blonde haired woman, the same age as Looker, whose blue eyes were deep and intense, and who looked athletic; she wasn't quite a coiled spring, but she looked smart, and incredibly capable. "And finally, Sergeant Farrell, our expert in pursuit tactics. Farrell can drive anything, fly anything, repair anything and is a well-rounded Officer to lead your team. Use her well."

"And this is it?" asked Looker.

"You'll have about eight to ten standard foot officers you can direct in absolute emergencies, like clean-up operations, but I can spare no more. I'm sorry, but after the recent events with Team Plasma, Unova is in uproar. It's a tough job to keep the peace everywhere, but to make up for it here you have my finest, elite officers." Looker nodded, understanding. "Now, onto business. I take it you know all about the Sages?"

"Inspector LaDieux gave me a report to read on the way here about what their role is, but I'm unclear as to who exactly they are."

Aurelius huffed. "Very well, a quick presentation is needed. Sergeant Farrell, the projector please."

The room lights flickered and the wall behind the Commissioner was suddenly covered with the picture of a Japanese old man, wearing a brown business suit, a green tie and a scowl. "As you know, there are seven Sages in Team Plasma, six of whom are on the run. This is one of them, Sage Ryoku. Sergeant Farrell will take you through now."

Sergeant Farrell stepped forward, looking a little shocked to be called up to talk without prior warning. "Thanks, sir. So yes, Ichiri Ryoku, Kantonese, born in Celadon City. A very well spoken man, and a rich one, and his surname, which means emerald green, corresponds with the two types he is a master of..."

Looker realised he was being tested. "Bug and Grass?"

"Very good! Ryoku made a lot of money by being one of the founding fathers of Game Freak, who have now spread throughout the Pokemon world, before turning to Plasma."

A new picture showed another brown suited old man, this one with very pale skin, a blue tie, and traces of ginger left in his hair/moustache. "This is Sage Alastair Gorm, of Snowpoint City in Sinnoh. He has what I can only describe as a strong Scottish accent, and specialises in Water, Ice and Flying types. Investigations lead us to believe that Gorm is CEO of Clan McCullen Inc, the largest weapons manufacturers in the world."

"Really?" asked Looker.

"Mmm. And he's not the only prominent businessman in the Sages." The next slide showed another pale skinned old man, with deep black eyes and a huge Kaiser moustache, to go with a brown tie. "Sage Heinrich Bronius, a Unova native from Driftveil City and a Rock, Ground and Steel type specialist. He owns a huge business empire, starting with mines in Driftveil, Oreburgh Mine in Sinnoh, Iron Island in Sinnoh, and Fuego Ironworks in Sinnoh. Plus, Bronius owns Subterra Inc, producer of three quarters of the worlds' digging equipment, is a huge benefactor to archaeological expeditions worldwide, and funded the Pewter City and Oreburgh City Museums."

"These Sages are big business," interrupted Aurelius. "Now you see why we have to keep the identities of the men we're hunting a secret from the general public until we capture all of them. As much as I would love to put out 'have you seen this man' posters, if we name these gentlemen, the public outcry will be huge and beyond Unova."

"He owns all of that?" Looker said, still reeling a little and unable to believe it.

"I'm afraid so. Sergeant Farrell, continue please."

"Yes sir." A new slide showed a red-tied old man with a normal face; in fact, you'd have easily passed him by without a second glance. "This is Sage Willem Rood, of Mauville City in Hoenn. He is a tricky customer, specialising in Fire and Dragon types, and oddly is the only Sage who hasn't earned their money- Rood comes from a Hoennese family of noble heritage."

The slide switched to a new old man, thin moustached, purple-tied. What made him stand out was his eyes; close together, narrowed, looking suspiciously at the camera. He looked EVIL. "Sage Francois Zinzolin, French accented, from Hearthome City, Sinnoh. I believe you're familiar with Fantina, who is a distant relative, and part of the same family originally from the far-off Kalos region. Zinzolin is a specialist of Poison, Psychic, Ghost AND Dark type Pokemon, plus has a reputation as a ferocious banker and property broker. He is not to be messed with."

The final slide showed a younger (yet still old), more tanned man. "And finally, Sage Alessandro Giallo, from Goldenrod City Johto. He specialises in Electric and Fighting type Pokemon, and if you ask me is perhaps strongest of all the Sages. When Johto tried and failed to get its own independent Pokemon League, so they wouldn't have to use Kanto's, Giallo was on the cards to be their Champion. That's how strong he is. And that's your lot. The Sages, of Team Plasma."

The screen faded to black, leaving Looker to take it all in. There was a mammoth task ahead of him if he was to capture all of the Sages, all six of the strong, powerful businessmen. This didn't look like the easy mission that LaDieux promised him.

Aurelius interrupted his train of thought. "I know what you're thinking, there's only six of these Seven Sages on the screen. We have the seventh Sage, the ringleader in custody."

"Ghetsis Harmonia," Looker said, remembering the details from the chilling report he had been reading on the flight. "LaDieux told me all about him. The true architect of the Team Plasma coup."

"Indeed. We're waiting to capture the other Sages before we bring Ghetsis to a full trial; maybe one of them will cave under pressure and drop him in it. I think at some point soon, though, you should all go and see him, see if you can get anything out of him that we haven't been able to. Plus, it'll give you a chance to meet your team, and your team a chance to meet you."

"You sure, sir? Don't want us to get stuck in with the intel?" Corporal Maeda asked, frowning, her voice soft.

"Go and see Ghetsis." Aurelius insisted, ushering Looker and his new team hastily towards the lift. "I have important business. I'll see you later, Detective."

As the lift doors pinged shut slowly, Croagunk frowned.

"Well, that was rude," said Reece, the others sniggering.

Looker turned, smiling. "I take it I'm not surrounded by fans of the Commissioner?" More laughs.

"He's an idiot," said Reece. "Doesn't know how to treat people, and he's very selfish."

It was Looker's turn to frown. "Well, I'll bear it in mind, but I've only just met the man; I'd prefer not to jump to conclusions. Anyway, nice to meet you, team. Please call me Looker, not sir. The rank-calling gets wearing after a while, so I'd prefer to call you by first names."

The blonde woman, Sergeant Farrell, smiled. "So would I. Tash, please."

Corporal Schulz shook his hand, smiling. "Bastian," he said thickly, nearly crushing Looker's hand in a bear paw. "I've heard all 'bout you an' Team Galactic! It's an honour!"

Looker smiled modestly. "My pleasure."

Corporal Maeda came last. "I'm Anna," she said, and Looker realised her soft and quiet voice carried a hint of a lisp. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," said Looker. "I already know you, Reece," at this Reece smiled, "and everyone, this is Croagunk, my partner in crime investigation."

Croagunk threw a wave. "Gunk!"

Looker sighed. "This lift does take forever..."

"Tell me about it," said Tash. "We keep telling the Commissioner we need a new one, but he always ignores us."

"If you ask me, I hate him," spat Bastian. "If it wasn't for the fact I can't get 'nother job in Unova, I'd leave. He's selfish, arrogant, and treats us like dirt!"

The others nodded. "You know," Anna piped up timidly, "I wonder why he wants us to spend all day doing something we've done three times this week already. Surely we'd be better off getting stuck in straight away?"

"Yeah," said Reece. "And why he wanted us out of his office so urgently is odd too. What's his urgent business?"

"Ah well," Looker chimed in, not wanting the team to get too carried away, although he also made a mental note to ask that question himself. "It's slightly odd, but never mind. Let's go see Ghetsis, to keep him happy. And I tell you what, if we make it quick with Ghetsis, then I'll take you all out for coffee and donuts, on me- I'm feeling generous. Sound good?"

Croagunk nodded fervently and the others chorused 'Yeah!'. It sounded like a good plan; Looker and the team could get to know each other, and Looker could be further enlightened on Team Plasma. He had realised very quickly as he was briefed that he would need to discuss a lot more with them to be brought up to speed with exactly everything that had been happening in Unova, everything that had happened since Team Plasma had reared their head. But first, an interview with Ghetsis Harmonia beckoned...

 **(***)**

 **A/N: So that's the dream team! Reece is not my OC, like the others, but belongs to author smash619. Since Smash won a competition to have an OC in this story on my last account, I intend to honour that here. It wouldn't feel right to do otherwise.**

 **Next chapter- the big bad boss (no, not me), Ghetsis…**

 **Any reviews (constructive criticism to glowing praise) are always appreciated, as are favourites and follows, but above all else, thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	3. Ghetsis

**Chapter 3: Ghetsis**

* * *

 **A/N: Here we are with Chapter 3. Rattling along at a fair old pace now huh?**

 **Thanks to the follows and favourites from all so far, I am very grateful to you for your support. I'm also grateful to MJ, Michael and Hasty for the reviews- y'all make me smile so much to read them.**

 **In this chapter, we finally get to meet Ghetsis. God he's fun to write. And maybe, just maybe, he might not be the only significant guy we meet?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

In the huge lobby of the Police HQ of Castelia City, the noise of the hustle and bustle of the street outside was interrupted for a second by a loud ping, as the incredibly slow elevator arrived on the ground floor. As the doors slid open, Looker and the team stepped out of the elevator with Looker leading the way, to be greeted by the ancient desk sergeant Forsyth, up and walking about with the aid of a cane.

"Just going to have a chat with Ghetsis, Sergeant Forsyth," called Tash.

"Eh, what?"

"Going to take Looker to see Ghetsis!" Tash shouted, repeating herself.

"Oh, right! Fine, fine. Here, have the keys!" Forsyth passed Tash a ring with several keys on it, then went back to his desk.

"Deaf old man," Bastian muttered, as he led the group to a door off to the side, waiting for Tash to unlock it. "This way to the cells."

Looker shook his head at Forsyth's antics as they entered a long corridor that led them down the side of the building. "How old is he exactly?"

"Dunno," said Bastian cheerfully, as they walked quickly, with him leading the way. "He was here before Aurelius became the boss."

"No one knows his name," added Anna softly. "His first name, I mean."

"Yeah!" said Tash. "I've been here over five years, and he was nearing retirement age when I started. He's practically a fossil."

"He's just Forsyth," said Reece. "Always first in, unlocks the doors, does the cleaning, gets the coffee and tea, does the paperwork, locks up after we all leave. He's just there in the background."

Croagunk panted sarcastically as they finally reached the end of the corridor. "Croa..."

Reece looked like he understood. "I know, long way. We have to keep the cells as far away from the streets as possible."

Looker was working things out. "We're still on ground level for the cells? So an escaped prisoner could walk out onto Castelia's streets?"

"Not that simple," explained Tash. "The walls at the back and sides are all thick concrete, and the only emergency exit is through the evidence room, which is heavily guarded at all times. All of that area is on CCTV at all times, on a video feed that goes directly to Forsyth's desk." She smiled. "I think we've got it under control."

Looker nodded, understanding, before Bastian produced another key and led them all into a small, white washed room, sparse and plain, with another door on the other side. In the middle of the room there was a desk with two chairs, one on each side and a filing cabinet sat in the corner.

"This is the interview room," said Tash, motioning Looker to one of the chairs, which he took. "Although I'm sure it turns into an interrogation chamber when Bastian gets going sometimes…"

"Hey!"

"We'll go and get Ghetsis for you right away, and we can have a little chat," Anna said, smiling.

"I'll go and get him," volunteered Reece, letting himself out of the other door, taking Bastian's keys as he went.

Tash handed Looker a thick slab of paper sheets from a drawer in the corner. "Here. It's a copy of Ghetsis' file. I know you had some briefing before you came out here, but you can have a little read while we wait if you want."

Looker nodded and sat, in silence, reading, while the other officers slouched at various points in the room. Most of this information in the file was familiar stuff to him, having being briefed thoroughly on his adversary by LaDieux before travelling to Unova. That being said, it never hurt to have a refresher on who the man who nearly toppled Unova was...

Ghetsis Harmonia was a Unova native. How old he was, where he was born, and who his parents were was unknown; Ghetsis' life was shrouded in mystery. What was known about him was that three months ago he had started making public speeches for Team Plasma, commanding the Grunts, assisting the Sages and 'advising' the king (his foster son, N). Then, when N became the chosen hero of the Legendary Zekrom, Ghetsis set his plan into motion, and N defeated the Unova Champion Alder under his guidance.

At this point Team Plasma were set to rule over Unova. Ghetsis had constructed a huge Castle under the League, which would be the seat of Plasma's throne, and in one room Ghetsis had hidden a device capable of transferring every Pokemon in Unova's PC network to his own PC account. As N's advisor, and owner of every captive Pokemon in Unova, Ghetsis would rule. But not so- several young Trainers had defeated N and Ghetsis, the former fleeing, the latter being arrested for his crimes. And here they were now...

Looker read and re-read the papers, searching for clues, and after ten long minutes Reece finally returned to the room, eyes down, looking sheepish.

"Sorry guys," he said. "Got myself locked in a cupboard on the way to get him. And believe me, with one wrong turning, that's an easy mistake to make."

Looker started to smile, but he was cut off by a drawling voice from behind Reece. "Well, well. Even during my lengthy stay here police competence hasn't improved one bit."

A tall man, thin with broad shoulders, moved into the room. Looker guessed him at well over six foot tall, wearing silk robes with slightly gaudy patterning and impressive castle-like battlements on the top. He was middle aged, his tea-green hair starting to grey and thin out through age, but his distinctive features were his eyes. A bright shade of red, they reflected many things- the contempt the man held to his captors, his amusement at their downfall, his boredom at being summoned for questioning again and a hidden malice deep within. He radiated indifference and arrogance, and Looker felt wary around him- here was a man who had an incredibly strong aura of evil around him.

Ghetsis Harmonia looked around the interrogation room at large, making no effort to sit down in the interrogation chair, staying exactly where he was and seemingly oblivious to the new team member. "I have told you everything I want to say. I will say no more. And yet you insist on calling me in time after time..."

"Ah, but this time is different," Looker said loudly, speaking up. "Now you answer questions to me."

Ghetsis took him in properly for the first time, and Looker hid his amusement as, for the briefest of seconds, Ghetsis' arrogance flickered, and a look of recognition and slight apprehensiveness glimmered in those deep red eyes. But Ghetsis recovered very quickly, even as Croagunk fixed him with a withering glare.

"Ah, Detective Looker," he said, the trace of a smile on his lips, while those eyes bored into the back of Looker's skull. "I've heard all about your conquest of Team Galactic in Sinnoh. I see the International Police has sent the finest."

Looker clapped sarcastically, slowly, trying to mimic Ghetsis' indifference and all the while maintaining that stare. Looker knew the key to getting the information out in interviews- to not let the opponent gain the upper hand emotionally. Letting Ghetsis know that his arrogance, evil and bored air was unnerving would let Ghetsis win.

"Take a seat. I admire a man who does his homework," Looker said.

"As do I," Ghetsis replied, indicating Looker's papers, sitting down as Reece reluctantly uncuffed him. "But heed my warning Detective; Plasma are above the incompetent spacemen by a mile. You have your work cut out on this mission of yours."

"We shall see," said Looker, waving a hand as if not caring. He almost reprimanded Ghetsis for his attitude towards Reece, especially seeing Reece's face, but rather than put Ghetsis in his place, he knew this would let him know he'd unnerved them. He leaned forward. "Now, tell me this Ghetsis. Where are the others?"

Ghetsis mimed pantomime innocence. "What others?"

Croagunk acted enlightened, before leaning over to Looker and whispering.

"Of course," Looker nodded. "Officer Davis, did you just hear this man say that there are no other leaders of Team Plasma?"

"I did sir," Reece said, trying to hide a smile.

"Then please inform the Commissioner we have all the information required for the trial of Mr Harmonia as the sole leader of the treason-committing Team Plasma, and schedule it for a date next week."

Ghetsis sighed. "You're no fun, Looker. Of course I know the Sages. I am one of them, after all."

Looker smiled. "At last! He knows who we're after, after all! Now we can get down to business."

"Sir," Anna said quietly, leaning to speak into Looker's ear, "I've been thinking- couldn't we charge Ghetsis for the obstruction of police in their duty? We could get him sentenced for that, get him out of the way and then worry about the rest of the Team Plasma case afterwards."

Ghetsis overheard. "You could. But then the prosecutors would drag up my Team Plasma connections, and any lawyer I have would wade in and want that fully explored before I get convicted of anything. Then your little case suddenly becomes ten times longer, and we're back at square one. You won't win that way."

Looker leaned forward. "Then tell us where the other Sages are, let us know how to get to them, and we can get this done."

Ghetsis shrugged. "Why? It's my freedom on the line here. What do I gain by giving it away?"

"The moral high ground that you did the right thing?" Tash said sarcastically from the corner.

"Besides," Ghetsis continued, turning his nose up at the sergeant in response, "I do not know what my Sages are doing. I lack the knowledge of where they may hide from the law."

Croagunk had had enough of Ghetsis' uncooperativeness. Charging up a Poison Jab, he slammed it down into the table, a centimetre from Ghetsis' hand, before glaring straight into Ghetsis' eyes. Looker had seen Croagunk do it many times before; when Croagunk got pissed off, he used the Poison Jab technique to intimidate people into answering the questions, and it normally worked. Normally.

Ghetsis however seemed unaffected by the glare, and was almost smiling at the fact he'd annoyed Croagunk. "Well well, the pet is trying to play good cop, bad cop with me. I'd appreciate it, Detective, if you called off your lackey. I do not appreciate threats of violence."

"Croagunk is not my pet," Looker said. "Technically, if you want to work on Detective ranks, he is equal in rank to Officer Davis here. He is my assistant and partner- he does what he does necessary. I wouldn't call him a pet if I were you."

"And anyway," Bastian said, "Croagunk has a right to be pissed with you. Cut the bullshit Ghetsis, you know where they are. Now tell us and stop delayin'."

Suddenly Tash's phone started ringing, with a rather embarrassing police TV show theme song as the ringtone. She picked it up and answered it, before whoever called her held a very one-sided conversation where her part mostly consisted of nodding in silence.

She hung up and sighed. "Looker, it's the boss. He says our time is up with Ghetsis, and he's standing us down for the rest of the day."

"He's probably had enough of the bully tactics you let the goons use," Ghetsis remarked quietly.

"Oh do be quiet, grown-ups are talking," said Looker calmly, smugly smiling inside as he saw Ghetsis' shocked face at being talked down to. "Why is he standing us down, and what happens now?"

"Apparently," Tash said, "he says it's useless to start any more of the Sage investigation today, with your sudden arrival so we can have the rest of the day off. He says we've had enough time in with Ghetsis anyway. And he says not to worry about Ghetsis' escort, he's sent someone."

There was a knock on the door, and the old man Forsyth hobbled through. "I'm here for Ghetsis," he rasped.

Looker nodded, standing up, Croagunk jumping on his shoulder like a pirate's Chatot. "Come on then people, I think that settles it. We're no longer needed." As an afterthought he walked over to Ghetsis and shook the Plasma leader's hand, noting how even then Ghetsis tried to crush his hand, trying to gain a psychological advantage. "A pleasure to talk to you. I promise it won't be long before we have your Sages under lock and key."

Ghetsis smiled as Forsyth cuffed him. "We shall see. Heed my advice Detective; it pays not to fall into the trap of being rash around Team Plasma. The last Detective was too keen, a hotshot, who thought she could outsmart Team Plasma. And then she met her tragic end. Do you know what happened?"

"I'm curious, go on."

Ghetsis' grin grew wider for a second, and meeting his stare, Looker finally caught the briefest of glimpses of the rage and the madness beneath the façade of aloofness Ghetsis wore. "She was found under the Skyarrow Bridge chained to a concrete Conkeldurr's pillar. She drowned under the murky water- she must have been so alone and helpless. If only we knew who had killed her."

"I shall try not to go the same way," Looker said, trying not to grimace.

Ghetsis shook his head as Forsyth started to lead him away. "A great pity Detective, that a man of your talents really has no hope here. You have no idea what you have got yourself into, and no hope of surviving. Team Plasma always wins."

"I shall look forward to our next little chat. Goodbye Ghetsis."

As the door closed behind Forsyth and Ghetsis, Reece sighed. "Phew. Glad that's over. Ghetsis makes my skin crawl."

Looker didn't hear him. Looker was still focused on Ghetsis' last words, the ominous warnings he'd given Looker, and the almost mocking smile etched on that face. Ghetsis knew something he wasn't telling Looker; he was hiding something huge.

Looker had to be much more wary now...

"How long were we in there?" Anna asked as they all walked out of interrogation and towards the lobby.

Bastian checked his watch. "Half an hour, with Reece gettin' locked in a cupboard and all."

Reece grinned sheepishly again. "Sorry I wasted time guys. Look, I'll make it up to you, let's go to Café Sonata. Food and drink's on me."

"You sure we're allowed to bunk off at a café?" Anna asked. "And are you sure you can afford it, Reece?"

"The Commissioner did say we're all off duty," Looker said. "I see no reason not to go there. And no Reece, I'll pay. I AM the new guy here."

 **(*****)**

A few minutes later, Looker and co were sat at a table in Café Sonata, rated the best café in Castelia City, eating cake and drinking coffee. Everyone had shown Looker around the city he would call home, pointing out what the huge skyscrapers were used for, and where the nicest places were. Looker had bought Croagunk a Casteliacone, the city's famous frozen treat, and Croagunk savoured it while the others ate and drank, chatting.

The other officers were enjoying Looker's talk of Team Galactic and how he'd eventually overcome them. Looker was modest, and would have preferred to talk about his new teammates, but the others insisted on hearing how Looker outsmarted a group who nearly destroyed the universe. Of course, he wouldn't tell them all of it; some of it took some time to own up to, after all.

Looker took a sip of his cappuccino. "And that was it," he said. "Croagunk and I had hidden out in Stark Mountain, waiting in disguise for the moment when Charon tried to raise Heatran. Then when he tried, Croagunk stole the Magma Stone off him, I called in backup, and the last of Team Galactic's leaders was dealt with."

"Wow," Reece said through a mouthful of chocolate brownie. "You really did that?"

"Mm. And that was that."

"And that was that," echoed Tash. "I wish this investigation was as easy as Galactic."

"Oh believe me, Galactic were difficult to put down," said Looker. "In no way was it easy."

"Still," said Bastian, gulping a mouthful of espresso, "least it was over in three months, even if it was hard, even if Galactic nearly destroyed the universe. We're still goin' here."

"Tell me," Looker said, taking a bite from a slice of coffee cake, "was what Ghetsis said about 'the other Detective' true?"

Tash nodded, finishing her lemon sponge. "Unfortunately yes. A while back, the elite of the Unova Police got suspicious of Ghetsis for the first time. He kept going from place to place making speeches about 'Trainers releasing Pokemon', 'natural harmony', and stuff like that, and often started riots."

"The beginnings of Team Plasma," Looker remarked.

"Exactly. Naturally, the Police were suspicious, so they assigned a Detective to watch over Ghetsis and investigate him."

Anna broke in. "The Detective was Kate Laudigan, in her young twenties. She was Unova's finest, never failing to find culprits or solve cases. But she started to believe her own hype too much, and started making costly mistakes on the case."

Tash took over. "She disappeared, mysteriously. Then a week ago, when Ghetsis was brought into custody, some divers replacing a section of sewer pipe discovered her drowned body beneath the Skyarrow Bridge."

"On a..." Looker paused, unfamiliar with the name of the Pokémon Ghetsis had mentioned. "A pillar? What's a Concheldurr?"

"Conkeldurr," Reece corrected him. "Very strong Fighting-type Pokémon that fights with concrete pillars. She'd been chained to one."

Looker grimaced. "Any proof of who killed her?"

"I wish it were that simple. No Plasma brand on the body, no last note written in her blood, no fingerprints of a Sage. It's so obvious to us that he had her killed, and he mocks us over it, but we have no evidence for it."

"Hmm. Ghetsis really is a nasty man, isn't he?" Looker said. He said it a bit too loudly, so everyone else in the café heard him, but one person actually reacted to it. Even seated facing away from Looker, Looker could tell he'd made the ears of an old man, wearing a smart brown business suit, prick up and start paying attention without turning round to reveal himself.

Tash, sat next to Looker, noticed it too, and was suspicious. "Yeah, GHETSIS is a horrible man. I'm glad TEAM PLASMA is no more, even if the SAGES are still fugitives."

As Tash emphasised each word loudly, almost comically so, the old man twitched, before getting up at the 'Sages' part and heading towards the exit of the café. Looker noticed this, and rolling his eyes at how overly dramatic they were all being, made a show of downing his coffee hurriedly. "Well team, let's go. We can't be sat around here when we should be ARRESTING SAGES."

That did it. The old man jumped into the air in shock, turning to face Looker, and Looker finally saw his face- pale, with a thin moustache, and the most suspicious, evil-looking eyes in the world. And then there was the purple tie...

"Zinzolin!" Reece yelled, leaping out of his chair and frightening some of the customers. "Stop in the name of the law!"

Panic flared in the eyes of Sage Zinzolin, who looked exactly as he did in the photo provided to Looker, before he turned and bolted. Zinzolin disappeared FAST.

"After him!" Bastian shouted. The police, including Looker, all sprang out of their chairs in a flurry of cake crumbs and ran out of the café door, in pursuit of the sprinting Sage.

Zinzolin couldn't half move fast for an old man. Looker couldn't believe a wanted criminal would be so naïve to go into a public café out of disguise, and he couldn't believe the speed. Tash, pursuit specialist, took the lead through the narrow streets, and Looker allowed her to lead them into a dead-end alleyway, which Zinzolin had accidentally attempted to flee down.

"Alright, it stops here Zinzolin," Looker said, flashing his ID to the panting Sage. "I'm Detective Looker, in charge of the Team Plasma case, and you're under arrest for attempted treason."

"You're nicked," spat Bastian, stepping forward.

Zinzolin swore at him in French, pulling a Pokeball from his belt. "Ah ha," the Sage said in a heavy French accent, "is zat so, mes amis? I don't zink zat's a good idea. Drapion!"

The huge Ogre Scorp Pokemon appeared in the narrow alley, snarling at the officers, who all stepped back.

"I'll take this," Looker said, as Croagunk hopped from his shoulder.

"Not alone, you won't!" Reece shouted, and as Looker turned Reece pulled out a Pokeball, from which a shiny Porygon-Z emerged.

"Wait, what?" Zinzolin said, shocked at the sight of the rare Porygon-Z.

"Yeah, that's right!" Reece said, grinning. "My pride and joy, a present from my dad! Now Porygon-Z, use Psychic!"

It was Zinzolin's turn to smile. "Funny, Monsieur! Drapion is part Dark type! Cross Poison!"

The massive Drapion dodged a Poison Jab from Croagunk with ease, before using Cross Poison to knock Looker's Pokemon away. Reece had ordered Porygon-Z to use Ice Beam, which struck Drapion's tail, encasing the tail pincer in ice, putting it out of action. However, Drapion roared like an angry Tauros, gritting fangs against the pain, before smashing the tail against Croagunk to break the ice.

Croagunk was knocked out by the blow, much to Looker's shock; that monster was strong. Drapion hit hard too against Porygon-Z, but, all credit to him, Reece held out. He managed two Tri Attacks and another Ice Beam on Drapion, but the Sage's strong Pokemon didn't seem too hurt by them. Reece's Pokemon in turn was hit by two Iron Tails, two Bug Bites and another Cross Poison, putting Porygon-Z out of action after a harsh fight.

As a dejected Reece returned his Pokemon and Drapion roared, still standing, Zinzolin smiled. "Well, zat was fun. I would suggest ze rest of you do not attempt to continue zis."

"I underestimated you," Looker said quietly, cradling the unconscious Croagunk in his arms.

"We are Team Plasma. We are ze elite. Team Rocket and Team Galactic drew too much attention, and didn't have ze power to achieve. But we are stronger. And we will rule."

"You won't win next time," Looker said. "We'll take you and the others down, and bring Team Plasma to justice."

Zinzolin muttered something quietly as if to himself, then spoke up. "You have no 'ope, Detective. Team Plasma will rise again and take control. A region will crumble beneath our feet. And zis time, nozzing will stop us."

Suddenly the air around Zinzolin shimmered, and three black-clad, grey-haired people suddenly appeared in a triangle around the Sage.

"Detective, meet ze Shadow Triad," Zinzolin said, smiling evilly, indicating the trio to a shocked team. "Zey are ninjas, assassins, 'ighly trained, able to teleport. Zey are our weapon of choice. I don't believe you 'ave 'ad ze pleasure?"

"How can they teleport?" Bastian asked, bewildered.

Zinzolin returned his Drapion, and tapped the side of his nose. "Zat's our secret. And Detective?"

"Yes?"

Zinzolin waved. "Good luck searching for ze ozzers."

The Triad member nearest Looker gave him a little nod, before the ninjas all grabbed Zinzolin and teleported away, leaving Looker and co in an empty alley, cheated out of an arrest. But Looker didn't feel too disappointed. Sure, they could have been better- they could have arrested Zinzolin, and not had two Pokemon knocked out. But this was Looker's first chase in Unova, just 6 hours after leaving Sinnoh, and now he knew what he was up against with the Sages. .

The Sages probably thought they had the upper hand over Looker and co. But Looker had only just begun. And he was determined not to let another one get away, no matter what it took. Team Plasma wouldn't know what hit them...

 **(****)**

In another part of Unova entirely, a phone started ringing, and was picked up by its owner.

"Yes?" asked a clipped, precise voice.

"The new Detective for the Team Plasma case arrived in Unova this morning," came the reply.

"And?"

"It's Looker."

There was a pause. "Not the best we could have hoped for."

"I know. Did you know, 6 hours in the job and already the man nearly cornered Zinzolin in Castelia City?"

"I didn't. Zinzolin needs to be more careful, especially around a Detective who took down Team Galactic." There was a brief pause. "Did Zinzolin give anything away?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Good. We will step up the speed. Our new plans must be completed before Looker realises, and before Looker arrests every one of us. He must not know until it's too late."

"Can't we send the Triad after Looker? That would end a lot of our troubles..."

"No. We stick to the plan, keep everything running as normal, keep nobody suspecting a thing. And if you want updating, by the way, I can confirm for my part we're running to schedule."

"Certainly. And then we will rise again."

"Of course. I shall let the other Sages know immediately."

"Excellent! Long live the Plasma revolution!"

"Long may we reign." The phone clicked into silence...

 **A/N: And there we have it. Particularly enjoyed writing the phone call, because as much as evil monologues giving it all away are fantastic, you can't beat a bit of mystery sometimes.**

 **As for Zinzolin, I am trying to write his dialogue in a stereotypical French accent (as part of my degree is French, I've enjoyed the advice some of my lecturers have given me very much), but I don't think I'll be doing it for all Sages. Zinzolin, Gorm and Bronius will probably have their dialogue written in stereotypical French, Scottish and German accents, purely because I'm familiar with the accent, but I don't want to use an unfamiliar accent for Rood, Ryoku and Giallo, and potentially offend anyone. That being said, if you think I should go ahead with it anyway, please say!**

 **Next chapter- Looker goes recruiting, and some familiar faces pop up…**

 **Any reviews (constructive criticism to glowing praise) are always appreciated, as are favourites and follows, but above all else, thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	4. The Hired Help

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. Time for Chapter 4, methinks?**

 **After that little battle last chapter where Zinzolin wiped the floor with Looker, I think it's safe to say Looker has realised he needs a new plan. I wonder what that might be?**

 **Enjoy!**

The first golden rays of a beautiful sunrise filtered through the skyscrapers to the streets of Castelia City, illuminating them in an incandescent, orangey-yellow glow. The water of the bay and harbour twinkled and sparkled in the dawn, and a cool breeze brought the smell of saltwater into the city centre, picking up a few leaves that had fallen and twirling them around gracefully in their own little elegant dance. It was a beautiful start to the day.

Looker walked through the morning glow, one of only a handful of people awake at first light. His long brown coated billowed out behind him as he walked, and his black fringe twitched in the wind. He held a coffee cup in one hand, but most important was his other hand; clutched in his grasp was the handle to a small black suitcase that trailed behind him. He was glad he'd remembered to bring it from Sinnoh.

Any other Detective who'd been through what Looker had been through the day before would have probably lost sleep over it- after all, he failed to stop Sage Zinzolin, got thoroughly defeated by the Drapion and had been introduced to three ninjas who could hide in shadows, who were probably watching everything he did, and who could easily kill him in his sleep. Any other person would have been depressed, angry, scared and sad, and would have worried themselves so much they wouldn't have slept. But not Looker.

Rather than be consumed by the negativity, Looker completely ignored everything negative about what had happened with Zinzolin. Instead of that, Looker focused on the positives, what needed to improve, and how he could improve it, drawing up a solution. Most importantly, however, Looker now had a plan.

He reached the Police HQ, a few of the office lights on higher up sparkling like Christmas decorations, and strode through the automatic doors, walking straight to the old desk sergeant Forsyth.

"Oh hello Looker!" Forsyth wheezed, his lips parting to expose crooked teeth in an ancient smile. "I heard about yesterday from Aurelius. Seems you bumped into Sage Zinzolin."

"Seems I did," Looker said, nodding. "Do you know which floor the others have an office on?"

"Floor 6. Go right on up, my friend."

The lift doors pinged on cue, and Looker stepped in, nodding goodbye to Forsyth as the doors closed. After thirty seconds and some rather pleasant light jazz music, he arrived, stepping out into a modern black and white office with several computers.

Around a desk in the middle sat the team. Tash looked to be the only cheerful one in the bunch, while the others looked quite distant, and down; yesterday's events had obviously got to them, and some of them looked like they were struggling to believe they could actually do anything against Team Plasma. There were however some improvements- Croagunk sat in his own chair, revitalised and healed from the Pokemon Centre after the beating he took from Drapion. Reece's Porygon-Z was also present, as was a Metagross also sat next to Reece, and several Pokemon Looker didn't recognise.

"Morning all," Looker said, sliding into an empty chair at the head of the table to greetings. As he plonked his suitcase down, he opened the top pocket to reveal a box of donuts, which he started passing around while Croagunk jumped up onto his shoulder.

"Feeling better now Croagunk?" Looker asked.

"Croa!" Croagunk nodded, looking happy.

"Ready to take on Team Plasma again?"

"Gunk..." A fire flared briefly in the eyes of Croagunk, and Looker knew his Pokemon was determined to get payback for the beating he'd taken from Zinzolin's Drapion.

"Glad to hear it," Looker said, patting Croagunk on the head, before turning to the others, who were helping themselves to donuts. "Alright, someone tell me whose Pokemon are whose? I don't even recognise some of them."

Tash smiled, before taking him through the Pokemon. Looker recognised a Lucario from Sinnoh, which belonged to Bastian along with a small brown alien apparently called a Beheeyem, a Unovan native. Another Unovan native was a flying squirrel Looker was told was an Emolga, which Anna owned along with an Ambipom, a Ninetales and a Bellossom asleep on her lap. Tash herself owned a lofty Dodrio, a Gengar and a peculiar Psychic/Flying-type Sigilyph, which was bobbing by the window and looked completely out of it.

"And who owns the Metagross?" Looker asked. He was very impressed with the rarity, strength and diversity of the Pokemon.

"Metagross and Z are Reece's," Anna said, as Reece nodded.

"Not bad. Some strong Pokemon you all have here," Looker commented.

"Yep," Tash said. "Reece used to battle the Unovan League a lot, so he's an experienced Trainer to say the least, and Anna came here after nearly beating the Elite 4 of Hoenn."

"Would've helped if we'd had our Pokemon yesterday though," Bastian rumbled darkly, and the room fell into a miserable, morose silence.

Looker didn't want that though. "So what about yesterday? I'd only been in Unova 6 hours! You can't expect instant results! And anyway, you were all unlucky- we might have underestimated him, sure, but two of our Pokemon gave his monstrous thing a run for its money!"

"Yeah, but Sages have six Pokemon of that strength. We didn't have enough Pokemon firepower," Bastian said.

"Because our luck was against us," Looker insisted. "I don't care about yesterday's results, what I care about is the fact I now know what I'm up against, and I am so determined to get it right next time."

"Next time?" Tash asked.

"Did you even have to ask that question? We are going back after the Sages as soon as possible! Pull yourselves up people and get back up again. It's a new day, we know what to do, what to expect, and I have a plan to beat the Sages and their strength. Team Plasma will not win against us!"

Anna gave a quiet, sarcastic cheer, but Looker saw the smiles on people's faces- they believed they could do something again.

"Aurelius talked to us about it, y'know," Bastian said to Looker. "He said it wasn't good enough that we finally had a Sage where we wanted him and let him get away, and that we needed to improve."

"Ignore him," Looker said. "He wasn't there, and we did our best. And besides, we are improving." He looked across the table to see Reece, taking him in for the first time, noticing the bags under Reece's eyes. "You look tired, Reece?"

"The Shadow Triad scared me," Reece said wearily. "I spent all last night worrying those ninjas were gonna kill me, and didn't sleep."

"Here, have my coffee," Looker said sympathetically, pushing his cup across. "This'll wake you up."

"Thanks," Reece said, taking a mouthful from the cup, before his face turned bright red. He swallowed, and started choking. "What the hell do you call this?"

"Coffee laced with a shot of Victreebel sap." Looker grinned wryly. "Stronger than some brands of tequila, so I'm told. That should wake you up!"

Anna sipped it and made a twisted face. "How can you drink that? It's vile."

"It keeps me awake and thinking intelligently on long days," said Looker. "I just ignore the taste. I guarantee it'll make Reece extra-productive today."

"And hyper. Anyway," Tash said, ignoring Reece as he gagged on another sip, "you said you had a plan Looker, a plan to beat the Sages. What is it?"

"Simple," Looker said with a nod. "I'm not worried about firepower, I think we can match them if our luck isn't against us. But I'm also in favour of having the odds in our favour, so what say we hire the only people in the world who can beat them to our team?"

There was a pause. "Who do you mean?" Anna asked eventually.

"Anyone. We need to get someone to contact Champion Alder to see if he can assist us, along with the Elite 4 and even the Gym Leaders. Pull out all the stops." Looker delved into his case and pulled out the complete paper file to the Team Plasma case, brushing donut crumbs off it as he went to a particular page and passed it to Tash. "And I want these three, particulary."

Tash smiled wryly. "Of course, the Nuvema kids. Our Hero of Truth."

Looker had read about the Nuvema kids in the case files the night before. Cheren Mavros, fourteen, and one of the most intelligent battlers in Unova. Bianca LeBlanc, fourteen, and a rising star in the world of Trainers and Pokemon research. And then there was Hilda Grey, fourteen, and the current ally of the Legendary Dragon-type Dragon of Truth, Reshiram. All three had started their Pokemon journeys together, and had taken the region by storm; it was only due to Hilda's connection to Reshiram, Looker had learned from the files, that Ghetsis was finally beaten, and that N had someone who could stand up to him. They would do just fine.

"I can't believe we didn't think of that!" Reece said, smiling; the Victreebel sap appeared to have perked him up already.

"Good idea?" Looker asked. "We could hire Unova's strongest Trainer besides the Champion, plus her strong friends Cheren and Bianca, and have three of the only Trainers capable of beating the Sages on our side." He paused, and briefly thought back to the days of Dawn and Lucas. "Plus, I suppose I have a proven track record working with young Trainers against evil Teams. The principle works."

"Let's do it," said Bastian. "I'll stay here, sort through the intelligence, keep an eye out for the Sages..."

"So will I," said Reece, indicating his Porygon-Z. "Z's good at getting through security firewalls."

"Are you allowed to do that?" Looker asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who cares? Aurelius told us to do it, we get the necessary info, and that's what we're paid for."

"Alright," Looker said, internally shaking his head; he knew he broke protocol regularly, but even he thought the Unovan team pushed it at times. "The rest of us will head to Nuvema Town to hire these youngsters."

"What's in the box, Looker?" Anna asked, curious.

"You will see when we get there, Anna. All kinds of wonderful stuff, I'll tell you that." Looker smiled. "That's it team- let's go!"

 **(****)**

An hour later, Looker and co had come up with a foolproof plan, a way to get a definite meeting with the youngsters, a way that utilised one of Looker's greatest skills along with some of the kit from his suitcase. They made a phone call to Hilda's mother, who understood immediately, and organised it so her daughter, along with her friends Cheren and Bianca, would be in the house for the Police to talk to. Now, as they waited in Nuvema, they could execute their plan...

Out in the town square two teenagers, one boy, one girl, sat and waited. The girl was petite and blonde, wearing a white form-fitting dress, orange tights, an orange petticoat and a green beret. The boy, lanky and thin, wore black skinny jeans, a ruffled blue jacket, a white shirt and a red tie, while black glasses and a grouchy face were framed by tufty black hair. They were the famous Cheren and Bianca.

Bianca huffed, pulling her Xtransceiver out of her green handbag. "Where is she? She's late!"

Cheren sighed patiently, rolling his eyes. "Actually we arrived here 20 minutes early," he said. "She'll be arriving any second now."

"We're really early? I thought Hilda's mom said half past?"

"No, she said on the hour."

"But I ran here because I thought we were 10 minutes late!"

"No Bianca, we were 20 minutes early, and you dragged me behind you across Unova at subsonic speeds to get here."

"...Really subsonic?"

"No, we actually travelled here at twice the speed of sound," Cheren said sarcastically, rolling his eyes again.

Bianca smiled sheepishly, realising he was pulling her leg. "Sorry Cheren."

A smile twitched on Cheren's face, but he fought it back. "Don't worry. Look, here she comes."

Bianca squealed in delight, looking up at the sky where Cheren was pointing, and saw a Braviary, a navy-blue-torsoed large eagle, swooping down. The Flying type Valiant Pokemon landed between her and Cheren, and the girl jumped off its back- blue-eyed and with long and messy brown hair framing a big grin, she was wearing blue denim shorts, a white vest with a black jacket and a white hat. It had been a while since she'd come home…

"Thanks Braviary," said the girl, returning the Braviary to his Pokeball. Of course she was Hilda Grey, 14, Unova's strongest Trainer. She was the Hero of Truth, partner of the Legendary dragon Reshiram. And she was home.

"Hey guys!" Hilda said as she spotted Cheren and Bianca, waving to them. She ran up to Bianca and hugged her, glad to see her friend, while Cheren played it cool with a nod.

"Hilda, where have you been?" Bianca asked. "We heard all about you at the Pokemon League!"

"Reshiram and I have been keeping low, trying to avoid the press," Hilda smiled. "They want to talk to the Hero of Truth, Saviour of Unova, and I don't want any of that." She paused. "You're both here because of Mom too, right?"

"That's why we're here," Cheren said, nodding. "Your mom told us to go and get you when you arrived and bring you home. She wants to talk to all of us."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Bianca said, before practically disappearing as she zoomed off at high speed.

"Same old Bianca," Cheren said wearily. "Come on. She'll forget why she's there in a minute and wander off."

The pair, laughing, caught up with Bianca on the doorstep of Hilda's house, and all went inside at the same time. They couldn't see their mother in the living room/kitchen, so sat down and waited as the door shut behind them.

"Mom? We're home!" Hilda shouted, then, "Mom?"

A figure stood up in the kitchen, and Hilda recognised her mom's brown hair immediately, but something wasn't quite right She turned around, the trio noticing she was wearing an apron, and started walking silently to them.

"Mom?" Hilda asked, worried.

The figure before them discarded the apron, pulling off the grey jumper (and the padding that had make fake breasts) to reveal a crisp white shirt. Then, fingers reached up to the hair, pulling off a wig to reveal smartly combed-over black hair, and a latex layer that made a fake female face was pulled off to reveal the male beneath it, as a Croagunk somehow jumped from within the wig to land on his shoulder...

"Good morning," said a smiling Looker as he discarded the last of the disguise he'd made from the kit in his suitcase, his staple survival kit of handy disguises. He was aware of the shocked looks, and the fingers inching towards Pokeballs. "I'm Detective Looker of the International Police. I assure you there's no need to bring Reshiram into this, Miss Grey."

Hilda stopped reaching for a Master Ball. "How do you know I have Reshiram? And how do you know my name?"

"I know all your names," Looker said. "Cheren Mavros, Bianca LeBlanc, Hilda Grey. The three Trainers who put an end to Team Plasma, including the 'Hero of Truth'. N Harmonia has Zekrom, so the girl who defeated him, Hilda here, obviously has Reshiram."

"Alright, someone's done his research," Cheren said sarcastically. "But where's her mom? And why are you here?"

"Your mom is upstairs, out of the way, probably laughing as she watches your reactions on film. And I'm here because I need your help with a certain case, regarding Team Plasma."

"Do you want us to answer some questions?" Bianca asked.

"Nope. I want your strength as Trainers, because the Police needs you. You're the only people we know strong enough to take down some criminals we're after."

Hilda suddenly went pale. "Please, no. Not N, please..."

Looker was puzzled. "No, we haven't found N. He's somewhere abroad. Why do you say that?"

Cheren looked embarrassed. "Well, you see... Hilda is… well, kind of-"

"She's going out with him!" Bianca blurted out, as Hilda blushed and looked down.

Looker paused. "Really? The King of Team Plasma? The man whose Team nearly took over Unova, the Hero of Ideals, the man who nearly brought about human/Pokemon separation... your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," said Hilda, looking sad. "I haven't seen him in ages though. I miss him."

"And you're OK with this?" Looker asked Cheren and Bianca. "The Hero of Ideals, your enemy, leader of the Team you defeated, going out with your best friend?"

"He never led it," Cheren said. "N was just another pawn of Ghetsis, just like the Sages. And I wouldn't say N's an enemy, more a friendly rival."

"Please don't make us go after N," Bianca pleaded. "He's innocent and harmless, and it'll really hurt Hilda. Please?"

"Whoever said I was searching for N?" Looker said. "I don't consider N a criminal, and I'd love to meet him, so I can use him to bring Ghetsis down. I need your help with the Sages."

"Ah," Hilda spoke up, understanding. "They're even stronger than N."

"Tell me about it. One Sage's Drapion beat up my entire squad. And that's why I need your help- you have a record of beating Team Plasma up. With your help we can find, capture and arrest the Sages, and then we can try them all in court on treason charges. But without you, we can't capture the Sages, we can't try Ghetsis alone, and… well, we're screwed."

"You want our help with the Sages?" Hilda asked. "Sure, no problem! The sooner I get revenge for them manipulating N the better."

"I haven't beaten up a Plasma Grunt in ages," Cheren said, cracking his knuckles. "This should be fun."

Bianca grinned cheekily. "We're all in, Mister Looker! Ready whenever you pay us!"

Looker smiled. "I'll get the boss to pay you for every Sage you help us capture. Deal?"

"Only if you promise we aren't going after N," Hilda insisted.

"I promise. Besides, the squad doing that are searching for him in Sinnoh, as far as I know and I'm obviously not part of that."

"They're very much in the wrong end of the world," Hilda said, smiling. "So long as you don't tell, Looker-"

"I won't. I promise. I don't have anything to gain from telling anyone, and it's not my mission, remember?"

"Alright... He's in Hoenn. A very long way away from the Police."

Looker grinned outwardly, while secretly making a mental note of it- it was worrying that the Police were searching the entirely wrong region. Surely they knew where he was roughly?

As they all stepped outside, they were greeted by the team. Looker introduced Tash and Anna to Hilda, Cheren and Bianca, and the Nuvema Trainers were properly introduced to Croagunk for the first time. The Sinnoh Pokemon smoking a cigarette (despite Looker's attempts to get it off him) fascinated them.

Anna's Xtransceiver started ringing during the introductions, and she took the call, before almost immediately handing it over to Looker. "It's Reece for you Looker."

"Hi Reece," said Looker cheerfully. "I'm happy to say that the Nuvema Trainers have joined us in our mission against the Sages, and are battle ready!"

"Well, you couldn't have timed it better," said Reece. "After doing a bit of digging, monitoring the news reports across Unova and checking security footage as well, Bastian and I think we've found Sage Ryoku."

Looker's blood ran cold, and his heart briefly paused. He suddenly became much more alert. "What?"

"You heard me. News channels are reporting the appearance of a number of Team Plasma Grunts around the Relic Castle in the desert of Route 4, and on closer investigation of CCTV footage we've spotted an old man arrive by flying in on a Tropius. He entered the Castle, and the Grunts are now guarding the entrance to it."

"Great work spotting it," Looker said, thanking Reece and Bastian. "Tell Bastian to stay at HQ, keep his finger on the pulse, keep his eye out for any change in the situation. Reece, rendezvous with the rest of us outside the Castle, and I'll discuss the plan then. Let's go get our first Sage, shall we?"

As Reece hung up, Looker turned to his team. "How soon can we get to the Relic Castle, wherever that is?"

"That's Route 4, between Castelia and Nimbasa," Tash said instantly. "Driving with sirens on I can get there in 20, 25 minutes. Why?"

"Not quick enough," Looker said. "We need to get there as soon as possible, if we're going to capture and arrest Sage Ryoku successfully."

"Ryoku?!" Bianca said, stunned. "Already?!"

"Really. We need to be quick."

"I could Fly you there in 5 minutes," Hilda said. "Braviary!"

Hilda's Braviary appeared out of his Pokeball, as Cheren climbed onto his Unfezant with Bianca, and Hilda hauled Looker up onto Brav.

"Right then," Looker said, impressed with Hilda's quick thinking. "We'll go on as the advance party, while the rest of you take Tash's car and get there as soon as possible."

"Looker!" Anna called, before passing Looker's small suitcase up to him, Croagunk hopping up too to land on Braviary's head. "Take this! You may need it in a hurry when you get there!"

Looker mock-saluted. "Thank you Anna, although how I'll hold on now I have no idea. Let's go, Hilda!"

Braviary squawked loudly under the weight of two people, a Pokemon and a suitcase, but he lifted off with a flap of his powerful wings, closely followed by Cheren's Unfezant.

As the people below dwindled in size as Braviary rose, Hilda turned to Looker. "Where are we headed again?"

"The Relic Castle," Looker said, a determined look on his face. "Let's get that Sage."

Braviary cried again, before speeding off towards the horizon, and towards the new mission for Looker and co. This was their chance for redemption, to erase the bitter memories of their failure with Zinzolin and replace them with memories of success.

And Looker for one was not going to let another Sage get away...

 **(***)**

 **A/N: Well there's that. Since the games revolve around Looker approaching the player for help in the post-game, it makes sense to me to add the three main characters of the games into his team here!**

 **Next chapter- I suppose we'd better have a battle with a Sage? Ryoku awaits...**

 **Any reviews (constructive criticism to glowing praise) are always appreciated, as are favourites and follows, but above all else, thanks for reading!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	5. Flesh and Stone

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy.**

 **This chapter gives Looker a second chance to take on a Sage; let's just say it won't be the last, either. It's all falling into place so far!**

 **Thanks so far to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/is following this story- I'm writing this fic to prove I can finish what I started so long ago, but I do it above all else for y'all to enjoy. I hope you like this chapter too!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

On the back of Hilda Grey's Braviary, Looker shut his eyes as Unova whipped past below, trying not to look down at the landscape rapidly streaming past him. Cold air buffeted his face from the speed of the Valiant Pokemon, soaring upon high above the world, and this made Looker hold on to Hilda in front of him even tighter, at the same time feeling Croagunk grip his head in the same manner.

In the rush of the air, distracted only by the gusting wind, Looker thought out a battle plan. He'd never been to the Relic Castle or the desert, but he had Reece to back him up immediately, along with three of Unova's strongest Trainers. He also, from his reading knew Ryoku's file almost off by heart, including how the Sage looked, a basic battle style, his personality- Ryoku knew nothing about him. And of course, Looker had the element of surprise. Now all he had to do was make sure it went better than the last time he'd tried to apprehend a Sage...

"We're here!" Hilda yelled over her shoulder, and Looker opened his eyes. He could see the sprawling metropolis of Castelia on one horizon, and the other bustling city of Nimbasa on the other, but all that was between them was miles of sand and rocky debris. Browny-orange dust covered the land, dotted occasionally with rock outcrops and a few large specks Looker presumed were groups of Pokemon.

Braviary cawed loudly, and Looker looked directly below them to spot the ruins of an ancient building, built from the stone of the desert, blending in with the surroundings. Parapets and turrets were visible in places, but time had been cruel to the building, and the very pillars were crumbling. This was the Relic Castle. And this was where Looker had the chance to arrest his first Sage.

Hilda and Looker landed away from the Castle, behind a sand dune, closely followed by Cheren's Unfezant carrying Bianca and Cheren. At first Looker didn't know why they hadn't landed closer, but as he dismounted Braviary he noticed Reece, also hiding behind the sand dune.

"You got here quick," Looker commented.

Reece shushed him. "We need to be quieter!" he whispered, pointing to the Castle entrance, and Looker finally noticed the two guards leaning against the pillars, while one other sat in the open door of the cargo bay of a nearby helicopter. The uniforms were dead giveaways from the pictures in the file- no other criminals wore those chain mail armour suits, with full helmets and gauntlets, emblazoned with the black and white shield holding a light blue 'P'. And, Looker thought, no other idiots would wear such heavy armour in a hot desert. It could only be Team Plasma.

"Gunk?" Croagunk hissed, as if saying 'Yeah, so what there's guards?', but Looker had noticed the guns in their hands. The three guards held lightweight plastic assault rifles, deadly in the wrong hands. Looker noted, remembering a little trivia, that the plastic version they were holding was manufactured by Clan McCullen Inc, the weapons company apparently ran by Sage Gorm. It truly was a small world.

"Looker?" Reece asked, quietly, and as Looker turned, he handed something across to him, a small Police-issue pistol. "From Bastian. He says you need protection, and if all else fails shoot the bastards."

Looker nodded, slotting a clip into the gun before pocketing it; it wasn't his style, but insurance was never something to turn down. "Thank you Reece."

"So what do we do now? Send one of us running naked across the desert, wait until the guards chase them and sneak inside?" Cheren asked sarcastically.

"Well volunteered, Cheren," whispered Bianca, poking her tongue out as Cheren glared at her.

"Act serious, you two," hissed Hilda. "I'm sure Looker has a plan to get us through. Isn't that right Looker?"

Looker's mind had been racing for the past few minutes, thinking about the potential arrest he could make. He had no plan, but as he assessed the scene something formed in his head. "Reece? What are those statues over there?"

Reece followed Looker's point to see 5 turquoise-blue statues, red-eyed apes in crouching positions, around the entrance to the castle. "Those? They're Darmanitan statues. Why?" He saw the look on the Detective's face, and realised Looker didn't yet know what a Darmanitan was. "Right, Darmanitan is a Unova Pokemon that sometimes transforms when injured into a 'Zen Mode' statue like these. We don't know how to wake these ones from their sleep. It would take a lot of energy for sure, and even then I'm not sure about what they'd do-they're supposed to guard this place fiercely."

"A lot of energy..." Looker smiled, pulling the small suitcase he had taken with him closer. "I have something that will do just the job."

Hilda stared as Looker pulled several wrappers from within the suitcase. "Is those RageCandyBars? I thought they were exclusive to Johto and Kanto?"

"A friend got them for me as a souvenir," Looker said. "I never thought about eating them. Just look at the amount of calories!"

"You think that's the right kind of energy?" Reece asked.

"Enough to wake up a Darmanitan?" Cheren asked.

"Worth trying to see. Let's find out!" Looker, having made a little nick in the wrapper of each bar, jumped to his feet and hurled the bars at the statues. Then all hell broke loose...

The Plasma Grunts noticed Looker stand up, noticed the bars flying through the air, and tried to charge forward from their post. However, one was immediately hit by a Fire Punch to the head to be knocked out, and the other was lifted into the air by multiple Confusion attacks and thrown against a pillar.

As the guard slumped to the floor, Looker smiled. The split wrappers had released the energy from the Bars and awoken the Darmanitan exactly as intended who were now chasing after the helicopter pilot, who'd dropped his weapon as he ran away from the marauding Pokemon. One of the Darmanitan stayed behind briefly to Fire Punch the cockpit of the helicopter, shutting the engine down and breaking the chopper, before following the others. "Well, that worked."

"Oh come on," Cheren said, standing up and dusting sand off himself. "You didn't really intend that to all happen like that."

"Who cares? It worked," Reece replied, grinning. "Right, let's go!"

Following Looker's lead, the gang slipped stealthily over the dunes and behind the group of Darmanitan, into the entrance to the castle. Pillars decorated in an ancient style stood everywhere, looming ominously from the shadows, towering everywhere, while the dust of centuries gathered on the floor and on the hieroglyphs on the wall. It was… impressive, to say the least. And yet, for all the ruinous grandeur, it was eerily quiet.

Bianca sighed as a cool breeze from the shady interior wafted over her. "Ahh, that's good!"

Hilda smiled. "Hell yeah! Right, let's go get Ryoku!"

"Wait!" Looker said firmly, as the group of youngsters tried to dash off. "Do it stealthily and quietly! Ryoku mustn't know we're here! Reece, any idea what to do? Where to go?"

Reece pulled out a tourist map to the Desert from his uniform pockets. "There are six floors in this Castle, five of which are empty, just a ruin. The sixth basement floor however has a shrine to the god of the desert, a particularly strong Volcarona, in the southern part. There are plenty of relics and valuable artefacts down there-"

"None more valuable than a strong Pokemon like a- what was it you said? Vol-carona? Right, I have no clue what that is, but I'm sure if it's strong it'll be desirable to a Sage."

"You really need to learn your Unovan Pokemon," Cheren snarked.

Looker ignored him, knowing full well he was right. "Look, I'm sure of it. Ryoku will be there."

"Right, let's go already!" Bianca said, impatiently, and the group dashed off quietly down several flights of steps. However, when they were nearing the fourth floor down, a Plasma Grunt was visible at the foot of the stairs.

"No, turn round!" Cheren whispered urgently, but trying to stop meant that Reece stumbled heavily, tripping on the stairs. As Reece crashed down, the Grunt turned round, hands flying to a Pokeball, but he was hit by the falling Reece, tackled to the floor, cracking his head on the solid stone floor.

The rest of the group reached the bottom of the stairs to find Reece sprawled atop the unconscious Grunt, groaning. "Nice tackle Reece," Looker commented, trying not to laugh at Reece's clumsiness.

Reece pulled himself upright with an apologetic smile. "Sorry guys, but hey, it worked!"

Cheren patted him on the back and dusted him off. "Just don't keep doing it."

"Right," Hilda said, regaining breath, "Ryoku..."

"Not yet," said Looker, and suddenly he had his case in front of him. "Croagunk and I are getting changed."

"You're still carrying that around?" Bianca asked, confused. "I thought you left that on the dunes?"

"I'd never go anywhere without it. I didn't travel all the way here clutching it to leave it on the dunes!"

"Another disguise?" Cheren asked.

Looker nodded, opening the case, putting his jacket in it and pulling out what he intended to wear. "This one's a cracker."

Hilda worked it out first. "No way..."

Looker struggled into it quickly. "Oh yes."

"Okay, that's clever," said Reece as Looker zipped up, and Croagunk donned his own disguise. "Ryoku won't get that."

Looker nodded. "Now, you lot take care of this Grunt, and make sure there's nobody else on this floor. Then, come down after me. Copy?"

"Understood," said Hilda. "Are you sure you and Croagunk are okay alone?"

"We'll be fine. We do a brilliant job at blending in with the background. We're famous for it. Anyway, let's go team!"

 **(****)**

In the shrine room on the 6th basement floor of the Relic Castle, an almighty battle was taking place. On one side of the room stood an old man, Asian in the face, surrounded by six Pokemon; a Tropius, a Scizor, a Shiftry, a Shedinja, a Venusaur and a Leavanny all flanked him, all in pristine condition. This was Ichiri Ryoku, Sage of Team Plasma. And he was here for a very special prize.

That prize was not an artefact or a relic- most of them, priceless objects over two thousand years old, had been thrown to the floor by Ryoku's Pokemon, who had ransacked the shrine carelessly. Ancient tapestries had been crumpled and ripped off the walls, while the remains of smashed vases lay around a smashable rock. The destruction wreaked upon the place by Ryoku's Pokemon was extreme, but he was not here for idols to a god. He was here for the god.

That god was Volcarona, the Sun Pokemon, the moth like Pokemon with fiery wings. The room Ryoku was in was a shrine dedicated to Volcarona, protector of the Castle, the Desert and all that was in it. When Ryoku had arrived and started destroying things, he'd lured the angered Bug/Fire type into a trap, and his Pokemon had hit it hard.

Ryoku's Shedinja let loose a rippling Shadow Ball that surged through the air and smashed into Volcarona, who hit one of the five decorative pillar columns on the far wall in a flurry of embers. Volcarona cried out in pain, and slumped to the floor, curling its magnificent wings around itself.

"Pah!" Ryoku spat, as his Pokemon leered at the fallen Volcarona. Ryoku's voice was aggressive and sharp, but without trace of an accent, and eloquent. "Ghetsis said you were a strong Pokemon, you were good enough for him to use! You're pathetic! Why he wants you I do not know!"

"Vol..." the Sun Pokemon yelped, pitifully. It had put up a strong fight to begin with, but six against one is never good odds for even the strongest and most revered of creatures- being outnumbered by such strong Pokemon had caught it off-guard.

"Ha! It's no matter!" Ryoku said, pulling an Ultra Ball from his belt. "Ghetsis wants you, so I come and you, it's simple. Even if Ghetsis sends me for a weak Pokemon like you, I suppose Team Plasma can always find a use for you!"

He threw the Ultra Ball...

What happened next would be ingrained in Ryoku's memory for the rest of his life. As the Ball span through the air, the middle pillar on the wall suddenly sprouted arms and legs, charging towards Volcarona. The towering column rippled as it moved and tackled Volcarona to the floor, while at the same time the smashable rock erupted from the pile of vase pieces, sprinting over, leaping into the air and smashing the Ultra Ball into two useless halves with a Poison Jab.

"What?!" Ryoku shouted. "What is going on?!"

Croagunk shed the last part of the crumbling rock disguise and adopted a fighting stance, glaring up at Ryoku. At the same time a Full Restore appeared in the pillar's hand and was given to Volcarona, who cried happily from the healing effects.

"You forgot, Sage Ryoku," came a voice from the pillar standing before him, "to read the guide map. If you had, you'd have known there are only four real stone pillars in this room."

Looker undid the zip and stepped out of his disguise as a stone pillar, letting it fall to the floor as he thrust his police ID into the stunned Ryoku's face. "Good morning Sage Ryoku. I'm Detective Looker of the International Police, and you're under arrest for treason as a leader of Team Plasma."

Ryoku looked bewildered and shocked. "No... You heard my plan..."

"I heard it," Looker said. "You wanted Volcarona to give to your leader Ghetsis, for him to have when Team Plasma was revived. But that won't happen. You can't escape Ryoku, you've lost."

Ryoku regained some composure. "Bah! Very good disguise, Mister Looker! But you, one Croagunk and one Volcarona cannot beat me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Looker, balling his fists, hoping Reece and the others would turn up real soon. "I'll take you on."

Ryoku adopted a fighting stance, and Looker remembered the Sage's file stated he was a capable fighter with his bare hands; now was not the time to have forgotten Ryoku's physical style, and yet Looker couldn't remember. "You won't win, Detective!" Ryoku leapt at him with a flying kick which Looker batted away, before a hard karate chop hit Looker in the jaw, sending him reeling into one of the real pillars. Looker had sparred with Maylene before in Sinnoh, but she was tiny; Ryoku, a large and fully-grown man, had a lot of weight behind each hit.

Ryoku stood over him. "Well, well! I didn't expect you to go down so easily! Tell me, when you fight like that, what did you think you could do?"

"Distract you?" Looker said, spitting out blood from where he'd accidentally bitten his tongue and grinning.

Ryoku turned to see Croagunk grab 4 of his Pokeballs and leap acrobatically into the ceiling, shutting them and returning all of Ryoku's Pokemon except his Leavanny and Shedinja. "No! You stupid frog!" He went to hit Looker again, harder...

"Sage Ryoku, stop right there!" yelled a familiar voice, and Ryoku stiffened. Turning to the entrance of the throne room, he saw Reece and Cheren framed in the doorway, but they weren't alone. The five Darmanitan leaped out in front of them, snarling as they saw the intruder who'd attacked their god Volcarona.

Reece, his Porygon-Z and Metagross at his side, turned to Looker. "In the nick of time sir! Sorry we were late, we went to fetch the Darmanitan. Thought they might be useful."

Ryoku snarled. "They won't be! I will win today!"

"Oh really? Because you'd better turn around."

Ryoku snapped round, spinning to see Hilda. Volcarona and Braviary were now at Hilda's side, both emanating fury, but the thing that probably scared Ryoku most was the Vast White being Hilda was sat on, fire spitting off the burning turbine-like tail, white mane whipping and twirling elegantly…

"Reshiram..." Looker sighed, in awe at the sight of the Legendary Pokemon of Truth. He'd seen gods and legends before, of course- they had terrified and inspired him in equal measure- but there was something amazing about the sight of Hilda atop the white Dragon, a Legendary Pokemon and a hero in perfect harmony. Plus, the fact a super effective Legendary had arrived to beat the Sage preparing to hit him was always a bonus. Looker didn't want a broken nose.

"Reshiram. Oh shit," Ryoku whispered, before a loud scream echoed through the shrine. He span to notice the five Darmanitan and Porygon-Z take down his Leavanny with five Fire Punches and an Ice Beam, and his last remaining Pokemon, Shedinja, was then hit by a Sucker Punch from the returning Croagunk, putting the Wonder Guard Bug out of action in one super effective hit. "No!"

"Well fancy that," said Cheren, as Ryoku sank to the floor in anguish. "We didn't even need Reshiram to beat him. Why are you even here, Hilda?"

Hilda tutted, and handed Looker his case before Looker strode over to Ryoku, who was being handcuffed by Reece. "Sage Ryoku, you have no idea how much pleasure I have in saying, you're under arrest. Anything you say at this point may be given in evidence against you, and of course, you have the right to remain silent, although I'd prefer it if you didn't and incriminated your leader in the process of speaking. Understand?"

Ryoku looked up. Gone was the fearless, defiant leader who'd beaten up an innocent Volcarona for his leader to have, replaced by a tearful, fearful old man whose entire plan had been wrecked in a matter of moments. "Why? All I wanted to do was succeed for Team Plasma, why?"

Looker hauled him to his feet. "Because you're up against the International Police. And we never let the bad guys win." At this point Looker frowned, noticing something in Ryoku's clenched fist. "Ryoku?"

The Sage turned. "Hmm?"

Looker punched him in the face, hard, the surprise of the blow and the force sending Ryoku reeling as his nose was broken, making him drop what was in his hand. "That's for earlier."

Reece picked up what Ryoku had dropped, a small black device, before his face paled. "Oh no. Looker!"

Looker dropped the unconscious Ryoku before dashing over. The black device was a small electronic earpiece, unmarked, with three white flashing lights on it.

"Three…" Looker worked it out. "Oh I see. That's how to ask the Triad to evacuate you. That's clever."

"Triad?" Reece paled even more. "Shit."

"Right, everyone hide," Looker said purposefully, not trying to panic the team. "Hide Ryoku, wait until they come here, then we'll take them by surprise. Then we may end up getting a Sage and the Triad too!"

Everyone nodded, scurrying into alcoves and niches in the walls. Hilda's Braviary and Reshiram flew up into the rafters of the ceiling, along with Reece's psychically-levitating Metagross, while Volcarona retreated behind a tapestry and Looker hauled Ryoku's prone body behind a pillar.

The dusty floor was quickly empty save for Ryoku's device, and then the air shimmered, as the black-clad ninjas of the Shadow Triad flickered while they teleported into the room in a triangle...

"Now!" Looker screamed, the ninjas' heads darting up in surprise, drawing swords and shuriken, but they were too slow; the element of surprise worked.

One of the Triad members looked up as he felt the air ripple, only to be hit as Reece's Metagross cut its levitation and fell to earth from the rafters. One of Metagross' huge, spiked metal feet caught a glancing blow on the head of the ninja, the gravitational force of a falling Metagross immediately rendering him unconscious. The other two ninjas were hit by debris from two falling pillars- the Darmanitan had pushed one, while Croagunk and Volcarona had thrown their bodies behind the other one. Either way, all three Triad members were hit hard, and went down harder.

"Yes!" Reece yelled, punching the air excitedly. "We got them!"

Looker, not wanting to waste time, ran over to the ninjas and cuffed each one of them, while Hilda and Croagunk pinched their weapons off of them. Hilda gave Looker a thumbs up. "Congratulations Looker! Your first Sage, and we got the Triad too!"

Reece was overcome with jubilation and adrenaline.. "It worked! We actually did it! I can't wait to tell the Commissioner this!"

"We all did great," said Bianca, as Reshiram floated down to join the humans. "Good work everyone, and the Pokemon too!"

Cheren prodded the ninja who'd been hit by Metagross. "I think we may have gone a bit far, possibly police brutality. This one looks like he's in a coma."

Looker frowned. "I'm no medical expert, but you might have a point. Then again, I can't say I'll be that upset if he's out of action for a long time."

"Why?"

"It means the other Sages can't use the Triad to evacuate- they have to fight us, and can't run. Plus, we don't have to worry about midnight assassins, or ninjas breaking the Sages out." Looker looked thoughtful. "It might have been a bit extreme, but if you ask me, we're winning now."

"I didn't take you as the type to support this kind of thing, Looker?"

"I don't, normally. But it's what's happened, and given who we're up against, I'm not that angry about it." Looker just turned to Reece. "Just try not to do it again if you can help it, please."

Reece nodded, as he helped the Darmanitan load the unconscious and comatose Plasma members onto Reshiram's back. "Right, let's go people. Let's report this to the Commissioner, let's interview Ryoku, and let's go get another Sage afterwards!"

The teens cheered, and Reshiram roared loudly, as everyone headed out of the wrecked shrine room. Looker however was packing his disguises back into his case, and so was last to leave with Croagunk. He spun round, observing the damage, the smashed relics, the fallen pillars, then turned to one of the Darmanitan. "Thank you for your help. We couldn't have won this without you."

The Darmanitan nodded its head graciously, before Looker turned to Volcarona, who was looking healthier and much happier. "And I'm sorry what Ryoku did to you, that we couldn't get here quicker. And I'm sorry about the mess."

Volcarona gave a complex shrug of its impressive wings, before moving forward to envelope Looker in a warm hug. "Rona!"

"You're welcome," Looker said, smiling at his first contact with a new Unovan Pokemon even as he patted out a few embers that had landed on his coat. "Now stay safe, and I'll see you around. Come on Croagunk."

Looker turned and walked out of the shrine room with Croagunk and his case, leaving a rejuvenated and grateful Volcarona alone with the Darmanitan. Catching up to the others, Looker couldn't believe his luck that today was the day they'd finally arrested their first Sage, along with the added bonus of the Triad.

And, Looker thought, as they walked out towards the Relic Castle exit, towards the warm light of day, towards HQ where they would report their success to the boss, this definitely would not be their last success...

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And he finally got a Sage. Take your damn time, Looker. Although I wonder what the Commissioner will think, don't you?**

 **Thanks for reading! Any reviews are always appreciated (just not the flames), and any favourites/follows of me or The Chase would be wonderful too!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	6. Fine Dining

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. Here we are with Chapter 6, folks.**

 **This chapter will focus now on Looker reporting back to Aurelius on the success of his mission. It will also have a cameo from three characters chosen by The Mocking J, who won a competition on the previous thread. If you've never checked her work out, you're seriously missing out; she's a wonderful writer and a fantastic friend.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **(***)**

The Unova Police Commissioner, Thomas Aurelius, was sat reading, sprawling in the huge and comfortable padded office chair he had in his tenth floor office, specially built to accommodate his girth. Aurelius' desk was large, with many hidden drawers he used to store paperwork and other bits and pieces, and it looked out over the bustling harbour of Castelia City, taking in a grand view of the metropolis that was Unova's capital of commerce and business.

Aurelius liked his office; despite being ten floors above the hustle and bustle of the city below, he still felt a part of it. He often watched the people below scurry about their daily lives like Durant beneath his feet, and the complex movements of people, cars and boats of the harbour gave him just a little insight into the lives of everyone else. Yet Aurelius felt there was something missing in his life- excitement. Being Commissioner up in his office, he never got out on patrol, out into the thick of it like other officers, instead having a bureaucratic job of paperwork and meetings. It bored him.

Aurelius sighed, sliding the paper into one of the many drawers, and idly setting the balls of a Newton's cradle on the desk into motion, before the corded phone on his desk, the phone used for the Police's internal, inter-department calls, started ringing.

Aurelius stopped the cradle and picked up the phone. "Aurelius," he said bluntly.

"Sergeant Forsyth here sir," came the rasp of the aged desk sergeant.

Aurelius nodded to himself. "Ah, Forsyth. What's the matter?"

"Well sir, you know how yesterday the Team failed to capture their Sage?"

"Yes?"

"Well today they've succeeded, sir. Tash and Reece have just brought Sage Ryoku in and put him in the cells."

"Really?" Aurelius asked, before sighing. It seemed the Team had finally succeeded...

"Yes sir. Apparently Looker's told them all what to do, and they're getting on with it."

Aurelius scowled. "Where IS Looker? I've been meaning to have a chat with him about the Zinzolin matter."

"Well, that's another thing, sir. Looker's trying to make a video call with you direct from the Pokemon Centre."

"Wait, what? Why's he in the Hospital?"

"He says he'll explain on the call, sir, he just wants me to put him through to you."

Aurelius shook his head, bewildered. "Alright, put him through."

The computer screen Aurelius had on his desk flickered to life, to reveal Looker's face, battered and bruised with bloody lips, Croagunk perched on his shoulder. "Good afternoon sir! How are you?"

"Looker," Aurelius said, completely missing the major detail that was Looker's injuries, "what is the meaning of this? I've been meaning to have a meeting with you about your failure with Zinzolin, and now I'm told you've only gone and captured Ryoku!"

"Well sir," Looker said, "we decided this morning we needed to change things a little, and took the necessary steps." Looker picked up the camera and moved it, training it on Anna and the 3 other people off to his side. "You know Anna, but may I introduce Hilda Grey, plus her friends Cheren Mavros and Bianca LeBlanc. Our newest team members."

As the teens waved, recognition dawned in Aurelius' eyes. "Wait, you enlisted the Nuvema Kids?"

"Yes sir. The Hero of Ideals, Mistress of Reshiram, and her friends. 3 of Unova's strongest Trainers, the Trainers who took down Team Plasma. They seemed an ideal choice for the job."

Aurelius smiled ruefully. "You know, there is technically a rule against us hiring under 16s."

"To hell with the rules. This job needs to be done, sir, and I'll be frank, with the small team we have right now I'll take what I can get. We need operatives strong enough to handle the Sages. I don't care if I'm cheating, so long as I win against these Sages, before we can finally take Team Plasma down for good."

"A commendable attitude Detective Looker," Aurelius replied, allowing Looker's bluntness this once. "Now, I don't suppose I could be filled in with the details to this mission?"

Looker nodded, recounting the exact details of what had happened that day; starting in the office, disguising himself as Hilda's mother, and hiring the teens. Then the alert from Bastian about Ryoku, the dash to the Relic Castle, the guards and the Darmanitan. Looker smiled when he was retelling the story of Reece accidentally taking out the Grunt, and when he told Aurelius how well his pillar disguise worked. He only went up to the part where he knocked Ryoku out, not yet telling Aurelius what happened with the Triad.

"Very good Looker," Aurelius said, nodding, secretly wondering how Looker had managed to pull all of it off. "And you told the rest of the team to sort out Ryoku?"

"Yes sir. He should be waking up from unconsciousness in a nice warm cell." Anna's Xtransceiver buzzed, and she nodded at Looker. "Tash has just messaged us, sir."

"And?"

Anna coughed. "Ryoku's come around and is locked in the cell sir. Also, his possessions have been confiscated- his six Pokemon in their Ultra Balls, his pager and a silenced Beretta pistol are now all in the evidence room under lock and key. He also had another, locked Pokeball on him that they haven't been able to open, and it's not registered to him."

Aurelius looked puzzled. "Hmm. That's peculiar certainly. I'll ask him about that when I go down to interview him."

"If you want to interview him sir. I'd personally suggest to leave it up to us."

"No, no. I insist I interview him. He might tell a lot more to the Commissioner of the Police."

"Of course, sir. May I also ask, sir, that I have the recordings from the tape recorder in the interview room to listen to? I'll see if I can find anything within interviews with Ghetsis."

Aurelius frowned. "I'm afraid not Looker. That tape recorder is only a prop; there are no recordings. However I can give you the written notes from each interview." As Looker nodded, Aurelius went on, finally recognising Looker's injuries. "So you're in hospital now because Ryoku punched you in the face?"

"No sir. I'm not that bad. I'm in hospital because these guys are." Looker smiled, turning the camera so Aurelius could see the unconscious and bloody Shadow Triad members wired up to heart monitors in hospital beds.

Aurelius, taking the wrong time to have a drink of coffee, spat it out across his office in shock. "That's the Shadow Triad! Looker, what the hell did you do?"

"Well, the Nurse Joy says one's in a coma sir, and won't wake up for a while. The others are unconscious." Looker told Aurelius how pillars and a Metagross had been dropped on them by surprise. "We needed to take them out of the picture sir. No more rescuing Sages."

Aurelius was shocked. "Looker, putting one in a coma by dropping a Metagross on him is police brutality!"

Croagunk gave an uncaring, Gallic shrug that the Frenchman Sage Zinzolin would have been proud of. It oozed indifference. "Croa?"

"He says who cares," Looker said, as Aurelius visibly fought with himself as to whether he could allow this from Looker. "Sir, the Triad are out of the equation, and that's all that matters. We'll have them brought over and put in special custody as soon as the Nurse is finished with them."

"Very good Looker. What are you going to do now? Drop pillars on another Sage?" Aurelius asked sarcastically.

Looker beamed. "No sir! I have a lunch reservation instead. I'll report to HQ as soon as I'm done!"

 **(****)**

In the Pokemon Centre, Looker shut the call off before a bewildered Aurelius could reply and turned to the others. "Right, Hilda, stay with me. Anna, take the others and my case back to base and join the others. See what you can get out of Ryoku after Aurelius lets you at him." Anna nodded, and Looker turned to Hilda as the others left the Centre. "Are you sure this is a good plan, especially so soon after beating a Sage?"

"Trust me," Hilda said, grinning. "You and Croagunk will love it. Braviary!"

Outside of the Pokemon Centre, Hilda's magnificent Braviary stopped chasing Pidove and landed, allowing Looker, Croagunk and Hilda to get on. The Valiant Pokemon then launched himself into the air, gaining height over the skyscrapers of Castelia as he headed for a new destination.

This was all Hilda's idea. Looker may have taken down Team Galactic in Sinnoh, along with a few Gyms, but in Unova he hadn't yet proved himself to be fully capable of handling Unovan Pokemon/battling styles. So, Hilda had called on a favour with some Gym Leaders, and had a reservation for Looker to battle at the first gym, in Striaton City, home to the Striaton Trio.

"So what are these Striaton Triplets like as battlers?" Looker shouted over the rushing air, as Castelia was soon left behind by Braviary.

"They each specialise in a type, one Fire, one Water, one Grass, with an elemental monkey of that type as their key Pokemon. They also all have a Lillipup as their other Pokemon. They're not the strongest of Trainers, but they'll be a good test for you and Croagunk."

Looker nodded, although truth be told, he had no clue what Hilda meant by 'elemental monkey'; while she might be the Hero of Truth, and a native, Looker was still learning. "What else do they do?"

"Well, Cilan's a Pokemon Connoisseur..." Hilda smiled at Looker's expression. "No, he doesn't eat them. He analyses whether Trainers are compatible with their Pokemon. All three of them are also gourmet chefs, so that's why we've got a lunch reservation too."

"Oh." At this point Braviary had arrived, and swooped down to land in a green and pleasant-looking small city. There was a garden to the west where children were playing, but Braviary landed outside a fancy-looking building with ornate pillars.

As they jumped off Braviary and Hilda returned him, a man dressed like a maître d' emerged from the doors to greet them. "Ah, Miss Grey! Welcome back to Striaton! I've heard all about your conquests of Team Plasma."

"It wasn't that much. Plenty of people helped me," Hilda said modestly, shaking the man's hand. "I believe Mr Looker and I have a 'special' dinner reservation? Courtesy of the brothers?"

The man nodded, shaking Looker's hand. "But of course! The brothers have already prepared a modest meal at your table for you. Please, follow me!"

Looker and Croagunk followed Hilda and the maître d' into a very posh, classy room with opulent decor. Passing many tables of people enjoying some delicious-looking food, Hilda and Looker were directed to a table away from the others, next to a big wooden stage, where a veritable banquet of fine Italian food greeted them.

"Wow," Looker said, impressed, as he sat down. "This is rather fine."

"Only the finest cuisine is prepared here by the brothers, Mr Looker," said the maître d', setting down knives, forks and napkins. "May I interest anyone with a drink? Perhaps one would care to try this fine bottle of Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance?"

Croagunk's hand shot straight up.

Looker frowned. "No you don't. No wine before battling. Besides, I don't think Pokemon are allowed to drink wine."

The maître d' laughed. "We do allow it, but with this I wouldn't recommend it before a battle. I shall leave you to enjoy your meal."

The meal was superb- the Striaton Brothers had cooked up a variety of dishes from Italian cuisine, and it was obvious that they were accomplished chefs, from the quality. Hilda went for a lasagne so thick it practically needed a shovel, Croagunk staked a claim on a 4 cheese pizza and Looker had a spicy penne arrabbiata, accompanied by the wine he'd denied Croagunk; he decided he was allowed one, after the success with Ryoku. Dessert followed for the two humans, panettone for Looker, tiramisu for Hilda, and conversation flowed- Looker was interested in Hilda's quest against Plasma, and Hilda wanted to know all about Team Galactic.

Looker pushed his plate aside, pleasantly full. "That was gorgeous. So when are we having this battle then?"

Hilda smiled, and Looker turned to see three young men walk towards them. All three were in waiter's outfits, one with spiky, fiery red hair, one with a blue mop, and the last one with green hair elegantly combed back. So these were the Striaton Triplets, the Gym Leaders...

"Hilda!" the red haired one exclaimed, rushing up to shake her hand. "Long time no see! Where've you been?"

"Busy," Hilda said simply, smiling as the redhead pumped Looker's hand energetically. "Looker, meet Chili, Fire-type Leader of the Gym."

"Nice to meet you," said the blue haired triplet, calmly, more restrained than Chili with a delicate handshake. "I'm Cress, Water-type user."

"And I'm Cilan, of the Grass-type," said the final triplet with the green hair. "And you are..."

"Detective Looker, International Police," Looker said. "And this here's Croagunk, my only Pokemon."

"Hmm!" Cilan suddenly smiled, twirling on the spot. "The chemistry here! Two flavours, similar yet different, who would not leave a pleasant taste if alone, combine perfectly to make a near-perfect recipe! You should be proud- not many people have such a delectable taste!"

"Oh brother," Cress groaned, embarrassed.

Looker raised his eyebrows. "Thank you, Connoisseur, for your glowing evaluation." Then, as Cilan smiled, Looker smirked. "However, you missed out one detail."

"Huh?"

Looker jumped up from his seat, Croagunk somersaulting up behind him and adopting a combat stance. "This is a winning recipe!"

"Oh he's just as bad," Cress groaned again.

The restaurant stopped, many people turning to see the commotion, and Chili grinned. "I like this guy. He has style. Okay Mr Looker, you're on!"

"Who do you want to battle?" Cress asked. "Normally we choose depending on a Trainer's starter Pokemon, but you can pick, seeing as you don't have a Unova Pokemon."

Looker paused, thinking. "Got it. Chili, I challenge you for the Trio Badge!"

There was cheering and applause, led by Hilda, as Chili took to the stage. "Alright, let's see if your recipe leaves you with the sweet taste of victory, or the bitter taste of defeat!" Cilan yelled.

His brother Chili smiled. "Lillipup come on out!"

The little dog like Pokemon appeared in front of the battle ready Croagunk, and Hilda appeared behind Looker as if in his ring corner. "I've just used my Pokedex to have so many levels' advantage over him, it's almost unfair."

"What did you expect? We took down Team Galactic, if he was still low-levelled I'd be worried." Buoyed up by Hilda's positive scan, Looker began. "Croagunk, Focus Blast!"

"Dodge, Lillipup!" Chili yelled, and Looker was pleasantly surprised by the speed of the Gym Leader's Pokemon to dodge the powerful ball of energy; he obviously trained well. "Now, Bite!"

Lillipup rushed forward, and Looker smiled- that was too reckless. "Wait for it Croagunk..." Lillipup bit down on Croagunk's arm, making the Poison Frog wince and grit his teeth. "Now! Revenge!"

Chili's eyes widened as Croagunk's eyes suddenly glowed orange, an orange energy enveloping him, before Croagunk's fist slammed into Lillipup, damaging it hard (Looker swore he heard ribs crack). Croagunk batted the poor Puppy Pokemon away, knocked out in one move.

"Wow, there's a real kick to that recipe!" Cilan the acting referee said, as Chili returned his fallen Lillipup. "Lillipup is unable to battle!"

Chili grinned. "There may be a kick, but can you handle it when we turn up the real heat? Pansear!"

The little red fire monkey that appeared reminded Looker a little bit of Sinnoh's Chimchar, although a Chimchar that had the same hair as Chili. "Croagunk! Time to play with Fire!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Chili yelled. "Take this! Pansear, Fury Swipes!"

"Croagunk, Poison Jab!" Looker yelled in retaliation, the two Pokemon dancing as they swiped at each other, both missing.

"Incinerate!"

"Quick, counter with Mud Bomb!"

Chili's eyes widened as the glob of sticky mud thrown by Croagunk fired its way through the flames and struck Pansear, splashing mud over the Gym Leader and the food left on Looker's table. "Ah! My hair! Pansear, Lick!"

The monkey dashed at Croagunk, and Looker started to give orders, but there was no need. Croagunk Poison Jabbed the tongue away, then as the monkey was reeling from the poison side-effect fired a Rock Slide at it, burying it under rubble. The dust in the restaurant cleared...

"Pansear is unable to battle!" Cilan shouted, as the knocked out form of Chili's prize Pokemon was revealed. "The victory and the Trio Badge go to the challenger Looker!"

Looker smiled as the restaurant started cheering, and walked over to shake hands with a crestfallen Chili. "Great battle Chili, thank you."

Chili looked up, and Looker could see a fire blazing in his eyes. "You won't win so easy next time Mr Looker! But you deserve this!"

Looker smiled as he was handed a beautiful, glittering object, 3 different coloured gems making up the Trio Badge. "Thank you. Oh, and by the way..."

"Yeah?" The brothers chorused.

Looker smiled, looking over at the remains of their meal now splattered by Croagunk's Mud Bomb. "We need to meet up for another meal sometime. That was stunning!"

The Gym Leaders laughed. "We'll call you!" Cilan said. "We'll arrange that for sure. Then we can meet the rest of your Police team fighting against Team Plasma! Good luck with it!

Looker and Hilda waved as they walked out of the door, Croagunk hopping up onto Looker's shoulder once again.

"You two did great!" Hilda said. "I don't think we'll need to do any more Gym Battles to test your strength, because you two are seriously strong!"

Croagunk flexed his arm muscles, grinning, and tried to pull a heroic pose on Looker's shoulder, but fell off.

Looker laughed, picking him back up. "Nice work Croagunk. Shall we go to the Pokemon Centre, get you patched up?"

Croagunk tried to answer, but was interrupted by Looker's old Pokegear ringing, a theme song to an old cop show. "It's Looker. What is it?" Looker said, answering it, ignoring Hilda's look of embarrassment at the clichéd ring tone and the age of the phone he had compared to her Xtransceiver.

"Looker it's Reece," came a frantic voice from the end of the phone, on speaker so Hilda could hear it too. "We need you back at HQ instantly! It's urgent!"

Looker was suddenly wary. "What's happened?"

"It's Ryoku sir! Team Plasma have sent a rescue party to retrieve him! Get here soon, we don't want to lose Ryoku!"

Looker snapped the Pokegear shut to see that Hilda already had Braviary out, along with Reshiram, who he was on the back of. "Looker! Get on Braviary! We need to hurry- follow in my wake!"

Looker slung himself up onto the Valiant Pokemon's back quickly, holding onto Croagunk as Braviary launched himself into the air, lurching skywards, rapidly gaining height. So Team Plasma had decided to send a rescue party...

"Not on my watch!" Looker yelled to the open sky, as Braviary charged forward in the wake of the blazing turbine of Reshiram, ready to intercept Team Plasma and stop them in their tracks...

 **(****)**

Elsewhere in Unova, a phone rang...

"Yes?" came a clipped precise voice.

"I take it you know how Ryoku was captured earlier today?" asked a near-identical voice.

"Along with the Shadow Triad, yes."

"Yes. Detective Looker was very lucky to capture Ichiri."

"No, Ryoku was too lax. He shouldn't have let himself be seen and caught so easily."

"Francois Zinzolin was worse. At least Ichiri didn't walk out into the city, metres from Police HQ."

"Anyway," came a testy answer, "why do you call? I thought we'd agreed only I would call you to update you on the Police, not vice versa?"

"I've dispatched Zinzolin. He's sent a rescue party to liberate Ichiri, and get him back on his mission."

There was a pause. "You fool."

"What?"

"Looker is a cunning, clever man with an eye for detail. The fact that you're not rescuing Ghetsis will ring major alarm bells, as will leaving the Triad behind. You're going to make him suspicious, and he'll find out!"

There was a long pause. "Oh shit. I'll alert the Team immediately, to change plan."

"Good. Make it look as if you're rescuing Ghetsis too, for God's sake. Then Looker won't get suspicious." There was another pause. "I'm not sure why you even sent a team. It's sooner than anticipated, but Ryoku's work is done."

Sigh. "It… was a mistake on my part. I believed Ichiri had some work to do. It won't happen again."

"Understood. Long live Team Plasma."

"Long may we reign." The phone clicked off...

 **(***)**

 **A/N: So Plasma have decided to rescue Ryoku, but someone's not very happy about their plan. Feel free to start your guesses as to who we have on the end of the phones; I look forward to seeing if someone gets it.**

 **Next chapter- Ryoku's get-out-of-jail attempt, and an actual chase! Much like the title. Isn't that cute.**

 **Thanks for reading, reviews will always get my thanks, and favourites/follows of me or the Chase will never not be appreciated!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	7. Hot Pursuit

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. About time for another chapter, yo?**

 **To respond to Lonely Gabite, since I can't PM you- I have my reasons for neutering the Triad at this point. If they remained, I fear that my story would just become one where every chapter goes 'Looker NEARLY captured the Sage, BUT the Triad saved the Sage in the nick of time!', which is just a little boring and repetitive to write if you ask me. Since they don't appear to rescue the Sages in the games, I've prevented them from doing so here. For now, anyway…**

 **This chapter is the longest yet, and will feature, quite simply, a madcap pursuit as Team Plasma try to break Ryoku out of police custody. It wouldn't be a cop fic without a chase like this, let's be honest. And I couldn't resist…**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

Hilda's Braviary soared on high, whirling and wheeling on gusting winds that buffeted his feathers like nothing else. The dark clouds were gathering over Unova, and already large droplets of rain were hammering down on the region, falling with a force like the wrath of the Legendaries descending to Earth, swirling in the wind, splashing down on everything. But Braviary soldiered on, through the torrents and the lashing rain. Because he had a mission to complete...

On the back of the battling Braviary, a bedraggled, sodden yet determined Looker clung on for dear life. The wind was whipping his fringe into the air while the rain was drenching it, so he kept getting slapped in the forehead by a flying, soaked combover, but he surged on regardless. He'd never seen any weather like this before, never seen rain so torrential and sudden. This wasn't rain, it was a vertical flood, a waterfall, and he was trapped in it.

As he sped through the air, large droplets of wafer splashed into his eyes, and wind hammered against his face, but even in the poor visibility he could see the glowing red flames, the bright fire of the burning tail turbine of Reshiram. Hilda's Dragon of Truth was leading the way through the storm, white mane whipping and whirling but seemingly unfazed by the horrible conditions. As they surged forwards towards Castelia City, in a frantic race to stop Team Plasma breaking Sage Ryoku out of prison, Looker found himself praying that the storm and the rain would abate, that he would see blue sky once more. A lightning bolt fizzled past from on high, and among the black clouds high above, as he strained to see, Looker swore he could see a large black creature amidst the whirling chaos...

Then the vision disappeared. As did the storm.

"What the..." Looker breathed, shocked, shaking himself like a Lillipup to get rid of some of the water as he turned around to get a better view...

The storm was there alright, a seething, impenetrable black mass, a bank of violent black clouds from which water fell with the force of atomic bombs. It enveloped Striaton City and Nacrene City, along with the rest of the south-eastern peninsula of Unova, but where the trees of the Pinwheel Forest ended, so did the clouds. The rest of Unova was cloudless, sunny-skied; the Skyarrow Bridge acted like a barrier between a world of storm and a world of clear sky. It was eerie.

Croagunk poked his head out of Looker's jacket, having been hiding from the conditions, and looked around at the sunny skies; while most Croagunk had Dry Skin, Croagunk's ability was Anticipation, although in these conditions he wished it was the other way around. "Croa.." he said, glancing back at the cloud bank, before he started whistling, sat on Looker's shoulder.

Looker shook his head at his Pokemon, before he felt a vibration in the pocket of his sodden trousers as the ringtone of his Pokegear sounded through the now-still air, and he scrambled to get his phone out. "It's Looker..."

"Looker," came the voice of Reece Davis, "where are you? We need your help, remember?!"

"I got caught in a storm on the way here," Looker replied, wringing his sleeves out. "Reece, calm down and brief me. What's the situation, where are you, and what are the Grunts doing?"

"They flew in on a helicopter that they've parked on the helipad on top of the HQ, and descended down the building. One of them has remained in the chopper, two of them have us pinned down in our office," at this point Looker heard the unmistakeable pop of a gun firing in the background to Reece, "and two more have headed to the cells. I've had a call from Anna, who is still in the Pokemon Centre, and nobody has tried to rescue the Triad. She's remaining to guard them."

Looker frowned. "Strange. You'd think Plasma would want to rescue their secret weapon so they could use them to rescue more Sages. Why would they leave them behind?"

"That doesn't matter right now, if you ask me. What matters is that two Grunts are trying to liberate Ryoku and Ghetsis, and we can't allow that to happen."

"No we can't. Where's the Commissioner?"

Reece paused. "He's in Ghetsis' cell, interviewing him about Ryoku. No one else is in there with him. Apparently it was a special Commissioner interview; one of those ones we aren't allowed in."

Looker nodded. "Well, I guess if Aurelius thinks he can do something, then fair enough. Right, stopping the rescue of Ghetsis and the kidnap of the Commissioner is our priority, and I have a vague plan to do it. I'll be there in a minute."

Looker snapped the Pokegear shut, looking below himself at the bustling harbour of Castelia City as Braviary soared closer to the skyscrapers and as Hilda and Reshiram slowed down to draw level with him. "What's the plan boss?" the teen yelled, Reshiram howling to the wind.

Looker smiled as he looked at the streets; the sudden appearance of the Legendary in the skies had people in the streets gazing skywards in awe. "Follow me, and do as I say! Braviary, to the roof!"

The eagle screeched loudly, defiantly yelling out to the sky, before swooping from the highest part of an updraft, flying like a bullet towards the roof of the HQ, Reshiram in tow. Ten storeys below a crowd had gathered to watch the Valiant Pokemon and the Dragon of Truth soar through the skies, Reshiram's tail blazing bright as they sped along.

Braviary's swoop had taken him at just the right level to reach the helipad, and Looker could see a Team Plasma helicopter sat idling on the 'H' of the helipad. He could almost see the whites of the eyes of the Grunt behind the controls…

"Now Hilda!" Looker yelled, as Braviary reached the platform. "Fusion Flare!" He and Croagunk leapt...

Normally Looker wouldn't have dreamed of leaping off the back of a speeding Braviary ten floors above the ground. It definitely wasn't Police protocol. But he had timed it perfectly, at just the right height to land safely; avoiding the bullets from the suddenly spitting gun of the guard, he and Croagunk hit the deck rolling to absorb the impact, while Braviary wheeled upwards away from the bullets with ease. Then came Reshiram...

Red, yellow and white flames formed in a sphere of fire in the mouth of the Legendary, as red and yellow arcs of flame from the tail turbine joined it, before the ball was thrown at the helicopter. The poor Grunt inside had little time to react, but managed to leap out before he was caught in the violent explosion of flame, an explosion that wrecked the helicopter in an instant.

Reshiram landed with a thump, and Hilda recalled her two Pokemon, before looking at the remains of the helicopter and the Grunt on the floor, who had knocked himself out on a railing jumping from the helicopter. "Arceus... I did that?"

Looker shrugged; he'd spent enough time being shot at to not have patience with criminals who tried to kill him. "You did a good job, setting them back like that. And he's still alive, so I think we're okay." After crouching to handcuff the Grunt, he turned. Croagunk back on his shoulder, and headed towards the staircase down from the helipad. While rolling up his sleeves, a grim and determined expression appeared on his face; he meant business against Plasma. "Come on."

Looker strode in through the staircase door, which had already been beaten open by the marauding Plasma invaders, and headed down the stairs at a brisk walk, Hilda in tow, fiddling anxiously with her Pokeballs. Down three flights of stairs they went, down past Aurelius' empty office, to the level where the team had their office, and there Looker stopped. He'd heard the faint crack of the Plasma guns from the top floors, and on this floor it had become a loud roar. He peered around the corner...

Two Plasma Grunts had their backs to him, staring out into the office room, guns levelled. From his position Looker could see the shadows of his team, the sunlight from outside shining brightly and throwing their long shadows across the floor, pointing out where they were hiding behind an overturned table. The thick arm of Bastian suddenly popped up around the table, a Police Glock pistol in hand, squeezing off two shots that fell well wide of the Grunts, before retreating back into cover as a hail of gunfire surged their way from the crackling muzzles of the weapons the Grunts held.

Looker turned to Hilda, formulating a plan. "Wait here," he whispered in a very hushed tone, putting a finger to his lips, before he stepped across the doorway, behind the Grunts' backs. Carefully, he removed a fire extinguisher from its mounting on the wall, wincing as it squeaked a little bit, but the Grunts didn't hear. Hefting the heavy metal cylinder, Looker glanced up at Croagunk, who merely nodded, and then...

The Grunts had not kept their guard up, leaving themselves open to an attack from behind, and Looker seized the opportunity. Croagunk jumped off his shoulder, Poison Jab prepared, and socked the right-hand Grunt in the back of the head, the Poison seeping into the bleeding wound, making the guard sink to the floor in pain before Croagunk delivered a Rock Smash to his head to knock him out. The other Grunt didn't fare so well; he was hit with the full force of a heavy fire extinguisher swung by Looker, and was out like a light before he hit the floor.

Looker winced in pain, dropping the fire extinguisher to one side; it felt like he'd pulled a muscle swinging the heavy cylinder, but it started to wear off quickly. "Well, that worked. Come on you lot, get up. Team Plasma isn't going to arrest itself, is it?"

Reece's head popped up from behind the table, cautious at first, wary of any further gunfire, but after he assessed the scene he grinned. "Thanks Looker! That helped us out a bit!"

"Where the Hell were you?" Cheren asked, standing up and dusting himself off as the others got up too, Bastian moving to cuff the Grunts.

Hilda stepped around the corner sheepishly. "We were having lunch and a Gym Battle, we just kind of got distracted. My idea, sorry guys."

"Don't worry!" Bianca said, far too brightly for someone who'd just been shot at. "You didn't know this would happen!"

"No we didn't," said Looker grimly, drawing the Colt pistol Reece had given him at the Relic Castle. "And I don't want it to happen. Let's go."

With Looker, Tash and Bastian leading the way, guns drawn, the reassembled team headed down the stairs towards the cell block, to where the Grunts would be if they were rescuing Ryoku. They passed the desk, where Sergeant Forsyth was absent, and headed towards where Ryoku was under lock and key, but Looker and Tash stopped outside the interview room.

"Looker?" Reece hissed. "Ryoku's this way!"

Looker remained still, catching Bastian's eye, and he nodded, coming back to stand with Looker and Tash. Normally an interview room was silenced to the outside, and had one way glass to allow outsiders to see in. This one had no glass, but Looker thought, if Aurelius wasn't in his office, and if he was questioning Ghetsis...

Tash slammed herself against the shut door, forcing it open with her entire body weight and yelling "Police!" at the top of her lungs. Looker jumped in quickly to be greeted by the sight of Ghetsis at the questioning table, with Aurelius opposite. A lone Grunt was stood in the corner holding a gun rather laxly, Forsyth stood in front of him, and his head whipped up as the door was busted in. Before the Grunt could raise his gun to fire, though, Looker squeezed off a shot with the Colt that hit the Grunt in the arm. The Grunt went down screaming, and tried to grasp for a Pokeball on his belt, but Bastian had barged his way in, and a fist like a wrecking ball slammed into the Grunt's face, breaking his nose.

In the struggle, Aurelius had quickly pulled a pistol, a custom-made Beretta, from his belt, and now had levelled at Ghetsis. "Don't move!" he snapped aggressively to the Plasma leader.

Ghetsis sighed, crossed his arms and sat back, feeling cheated of an escape. "So near, and yet so far. I was just about to leave."

"Nice try Ghetsis," Hilda commented drily. "Try harder next time."

"You…" He stiffened at the sight of the girl."You're her… What the hell are you doing here? Where is my boy?"

Aurelius nodded to Looker, ignoring Ghetsis, although Looker wasn't; he'd noticed Ghetsis' mood swing the second Hilda arrived. "Good job you got here in time. That Grunt was about to move us out."

Looker continued to ignore him. "Reece, Cheren, Bianca, help Forsyth put Ghetsis back in the cells, then escort the Commissioner back to his office. The rest of you, with me. We still have to stop Ryoku getting out."

The officers snapped to it, but even quicker than them were the two figures who sprinted past the interview room, heading towards the exit...

"It's Ryoku!" snarled Bastian, as he spotted a flash of the green tie. "He's escaping!"

"My time to shine," Tash said, drawing her own Glock, and Looker remembered Aurelius telling him she was Unova's top pursuit officer- she'd be very useful in getting Ryoku back under arrest. "Looker, Hilda, follow me. And do try to keep up."

Hilda grinned, and hastily followed her out of the room, starting to run when they got back into the corridor, and starting to sprint when they realised Ryoku had left the building and was in the city.

Looker, a little way behind, skidded to a halt in the plaza. "Where are they?" He grabbed a nearby citizen angrily, who eeped. "Which way?"

The frightened city resident pointed south, and Looker pounded off in that direction, eventually catching up, but Tash quickly re-took the lead; the pursuit officer had much greater physical strength and fitness than Looker. Reaching a crossroads, she didn't pause for a moment, as she caught a glimpse of the green tie billowing as Ryoku ran south, and followed down Mode Street, jostling the commuters and jumping over parked motorbikes without a second thought. "Why are they running this way? Why not back to the helicopter?"

"Hilda destroyed it!" Looker yelled. "They can't escape that way!" Then realisation dawned. "They're headed for the harbour!"

By now they'd reached the end of the road, and emerged onto the Oceanfront Road, the waterfront road that housed the many piers and wharfs. There were quite a few people milling around the pier, a mariachi band was playing, and the sudden arrival of the officers attracted a crowd away from the band, which wound the guitarist up.

"Where's he gone?!" Hilda said, groaning due to lack of fitness. "God, as Unova's top Trainer I need to be fitter than this..."

"He's there!" Tash said, ignoring the panting of the teenage girl beside her. "Prime Pier!"

Prime Pier was one of the five piers that jutted out from the wharf. Looker had been shown it by the officers when they'd taken him for a city tour (on the day they tried to arrest Zinzolin), and it was home to the Police's two chase boats, rigid-hulled inflatable boats (or RIBs), along with a black motorboat which nobody seemed to know anything about. Now Looker knew though; Ryoku and the Grunt jumped aboard the boat, losing his brown hat to a sudden gust, before the boat started to head out of the harbour.

"Oh no you don't," said Tash, running over to one of the RIBs. Powering up the engine as Looker and Croagunk jumped aboard, she handed her walkie-talkie to Looker, and tossed another one to Hilda. "Hilda, turn this to channel 6, and get up in the air, on Braviary or Reshiram. Monitor our situation, and get the others in pursuit now!" Before the stunned teen could reply and ask how to turn it on, Tash gunned the RIB's engine and set off out onto the water, bouncing from wave crest to wave crest as she and the stunned Looker chased after Ryoku.

Looker, crouched at the bow of the RIB while he looked out at Ryoku's fleeing boat, heard screams from the wharf, and turned to see a gathering shocked at the sudden appearance of Unova's best Trainer and her Legendary Reshiram. The Dragon of Truth roared, before jetting skyward on a pillar of flame, its master clinging on for dear life. Looker's gaze then turned to Tash, who had lost her hat and whose blond hair was now billowing behind her; while there was determination in her eyes, she was smiling, the thrill of the chase getting to her. She was in her element, in pursuit.

Looker's walkie-talkie squawked, and Hilda's voice came crackling over the airwaves. "Looker its Hilda! Keep us informed, what's the situation? Uh, over? Am I meant to say that?"

"We are 200 yards behind the suspects, and closing!" Looker yelled over the engine. "Heading north-west out of Castelia, potentially towards Nimbasa or Driftveil!" He rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh despite the sitatuon. "Over."

There was a brief pause. "Okay, Reece and Cheren are in a chase car leaving Castelia and heading north along the coast in support. Aurelius is also trying to get the Unovan Army to send in a helicopter, but for now your only aerial support is me. Over."

"Well keep at it Hilda," Looker said. "We need you."

"Umm, Looker?"

"Yes?"

"Huge cruise ship up ahead! Overrrr!"

"What?" Looker looked up. "Oh shit. Tash!"

Hilda was right. The water channel up ahead was being taken up by a monstrous vessel, a gold and grey behemoth of iron that towered above most other ships. The cruise ship was grand and luxurious, and from a distance Looker could pick out the name on the bow- the 'Royal Unova'. But, more importantly, it was heading diagonally across the channel... on a collision course with the RIB and Ryoku's boat.

"Why is that out there?" Tash shouted. "I thought the Royal Unova was supposed to be in port during the day?! It's only supposed to leave on evening cruises!"

Hilda's voice came over the walkie-talkie. "Bastian just radioed the Harbourmaster. Apparently, according to him it's out on a test run testing a new propulsion system. Over?"

"Well get it to clear out of the way! And for Arceus' sake stop saying over, Hilda!"

"Too late.." Looker groaned, as the cruise ship loomed ominously up ahead. The bow wave alone from the thing was huge, and, sensing the danger, Ryoku's boat put on an extra spurt of speed to get clear easily, the horn of the Royal Unova blaring angrily at the Plasma boat's recklessness.

"I'm not stopping!" Tash shouted. "I'm not losing Ryoku!"

"Are you nuts?!" Looker yelled back, afraid of the impending crash. "You're going to wreck us!"

Tash shook her head, opening the throttles to the max. "Hold on!"

Croagunk put his hands on his head in a brace position, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst...

There weren't even millimetres to spare. The rigid hull of the RIB scraped loudly against the sharp bow, and the boat rocked violently, tossed by the collision and by the bow wave, but it held firm. Looker and Croagunk hung on for dear life, fearing they would be crushing by the leviathan, but Tash battled resolutely at the helm, and through the surges of water and blast of horn noise, the RIB powered on, away from the blaring horns of the Royal Unova.

Looker mopped sweat from his brow, and Croagunk followed suit, a mirror image of his master. "Thank God..."

"You alright Looker?" Tash asked, concerned.

"We made it," he replied. "You did it. Well done Tash!" And with that, he leaned overboard and threw up all his lunch from the Striaton Gym.

"If it makes you feel any better," Hilda said on the radio, over the sounds of retching, "I'm feeling seasick watching that. How did you do it?"

Looker lifted his head up and back onto the boat, searching for a witty reply, but he was cut short by the pock-pock of bullets hitting the RIB's hull, and he threw himself to the deck. "What the Hell?!"

Tash crouched down. "Helicopter, in the sky, bearing ninety! There's a gunner!"

More bullets whistled past, and through the hail of gunfire Looker could see a military chopper, a gunship, with Reshiram circling anxiously higher up in the air to keep out of range. The chopper's chain gun was blazing, the water behind the RIB erupting like a thousand miniature geysers, and a flag hung from one of the landing skids, a black and white shield with a blue 'P'. "I thought you said the military were coming!"

"Umm, Looker?" Hilda said, timidly. "That's supposed to be the military. They're not answering radio calls though, according to Bastian and the Nimbasa base crew say their pilots are not on that thing."

"Plasma," Looker groaned. "Use of deadly force acceptable, Tash?"

"I think Aurelius would let us off just this once, Looker!"

"I bloody hope so. Hilda, light the bastards up!"

"Yes sir! Reshiram, Blue Flare!"

The Unova sky, clear and light, suddenly blazed a brighter shade of blue, as a broad beam of blue and white fire shot from the mouth of the flying Reshiram into the gunship, which erupted in a blue explosion in mid air. The crew had no chance of survival, and the wreckage splashed down into the water and sank into the murky depths just a few metres from the RIB.

"Good shot," said Tash admiringly, as the water steamed from the heat of the fireball Reshiram had just spat. "We're catching them now!" She was interrupted by more gunfire though, this time from the back of the fleeing boat itself, as the Grunt with Ryoku swapped places with him. With Ryoku steering, the Grunt at the back of the black speedboat picked up a gun and tried to take Looker out. "These guys never quit, do they?"

Looker opened his mouth to say something, but Croagunk acted quicker; Looker's partner swiped Tash's Glock from her belt, before running back to the bow and opening fire on the Plasma boat with unnervingly good aim. One shot from 100 yards away actually hit the Grunt in the shoulder, and Looker looked stunned as she went down in pain.

"Good shooting Croagunk!"

"Gunk croa!" Croagunk smiled, pulling a pose.

The walkie-talkie sounded out once again. "Looker this is Hilda! Good news! The Navy have responded, and we have a Coast Guard ship coming downstream towards you fast!"

"So much military for one region, good lord," Looker muttered under his breath. "I thought Kanto was bad with Lieutenant Surge."

"Looker, this bunch are loyal! Switch to channel 8 to hear from them..."

Looker flicked over, to hear "Police patrol boat, this is Captain Beaumont, commander of the UNS Thunder Child. Please respond, over?"

"Thunder Child this is Detective Looker. Where the hell are you?"

"1.5 miles upstream and closing on your position fast. We're not exactly a small ship, I'm surprised you can't see us. What assistance do you require, over?"

Looker peeked up over the bow after the snarky reply, wary of further shots, to see the UNS Thunder Child steaming towards them, her forward gun turret standing proud. She looked almost like a miniature destroyer, such was the design of the turrets- they were powerful. "Oh okay, that'll do just nicely. Captain, fire warning shots over the Plasma ship! I repeat, fire warning shots! Let them know what they're up against, but do not sink the ship. There's a man on board and we need him alive!"

"Understood Detective." The forward turret suddenly twitched, black smoke and flame belching from the twin barrels as two shells whistled overhead, splashing down 20 metres ahead of the speeding Plasma boat, catching it with a plume of water.

The Plasma boat swerved, and Looker saw it change course across the water, speeding for the far bank. Squinting, he could see a jeep on the bank, the familiar Plasma insignia on the bonnet. "Dammit! They're taking the chase onto land! Tash, where the hell is Reece?"

"Coming up on the far bank. You should see him arriving downstream from the Plasma jeep. Do you want Reshiram to take the jeep out?"

"Looker, this is Captain Beaumont. We too can fire on the vehicle, if you require, over?"

"Too late," Looker groaned, as Ryoku's boat grounded itself alongside the Jeep. "We can't risk hitting Ryoku. Thank you for your assistance Thunder Child, but from here on its just us and them. Over." He switched back to Police frequency. "Same for you, Hilda. Don't fire, we can't risk it."

Tash had brought the RIB on a course to meet the far bank, and as it drew closer a Police pursuit car swerved onto the muddy banks, skidding to a halt near them as Ryoku and his injured Grunt companion leapt into the jeep.

Reece jumped out as Looker and co landed, leaving the boat aground as they dashed for the car, the jeep roaring off. "Tash, you drive! Give me the radio, I'll direct!"

Tash slid into the driver's seat, Looker sat beside her in the passenger seat and Reece and Croagunk in the back. The car's engine roared as it charged forward in pursuit, the sirens wailing and lights flashing despite there being no traffic on the bank. They soon rejoined the Route though, west into Driftveil City, where traffic was slow, and progress was hard, as the 4x4 jeep simply went around the jam, stretching its lead.

Reece looked up from the radio after some busy talking. "Bastian's used my Porygon-Z and got into the surveillance grid for Driftveil. Anywhere they go, we know. I've also got a new chopper hovering the city, and that Navy ship is guarding the harbour; nothing is leaving by sea. Not by road either- Driftveil's Chief of Police has closed all roads out of the city. They'll be trapped in Driftveil."

Croagunk started jumping up and down excitedly, and then Looker saw it too. "That's not our problem. Look!"

The others saw it now. Route 5 linked Nimbasa City and Driftveil, via the Driftveil Drawbridge, a bridge that lifted up and down. The Plasma jeep had managed to cross it well before the Police, and was on the other side. But when the Chief had said all roads would be closed, that clearly (to Looker's horror) included the Drawbridge; a loud whirring could be heard, and slowly, the Drawbridge began to rise...

"Ha, nice try mister!" Tash said, flooring the car's accelerator through the traffic, finding every gap as she sped up approaching the bridge. "That isn't gonna stop me!"

Croagunk and Reece blanched. "Oh shit," said Reece, as Croagunk once again adopted his brace position.

"Here we go!" Looker yelled, realising there was no way he'd stop Tash and hanging on for dear life as the car reached the bridge. The incline was getting higher all the while, but the car was at top speed, and roared up the ramp, launching itself over the gap...

The Police car sailed over the gap quite serenely, but came down with a heavy thump that tested the spines of the occupants to the limits. The tyres however didn't survive; they burst on impact, and the car skidded to a halt on sparking rims. They made it over, but now they had to walk into Driftveil and chase after Ryoku on foot.

Looker stepped out of the car giddily and looked down at the smoking remains of the tyres. "Well," he said weakly, "that was fun."

Croagunk was throwing up in the back seat, and when Looker finally got him out Reece trotted back over to the team from the gatehouse. "The mechanism appears seized up, Looker. We aren't going to be able to use the Drawbridge."

"Neither are they," Looker said, striding forward, marching away from the broken car towards Driftveil at a brisk pace. He grabbed Reece's walkie-talkie. "Hilda, you still there?"

"Uh, yes! All exits out of Driftveil are sealed, and the Driftveil Chief is sending people to guard the Drawbridge now. We've got air and sea exits covered, the security cameras are under close scrutiny, and patrols/searches will start when you and the Chief say so. They can hide, but they can't run."

Looker nodded. "Get everyone back at base to come here by air. Take Cheren's Unfezant and any other Flying type or Flying machine you can find. We need you down here on the ground though."

"Got it. See you in Driftveil."

As the radio clicked silent, Looker's phone started ringing, an unknown number calling. Croagunk looked at it suspiciously, as did Looker, who answered with a tentative "Hello?"

"Ah, mon ami Looker! It 'as been too long, oui?"

Looker froze at the sound of that distinctive, almost stereotypical accent- how the hell did he get this number? "Zinzolin?!"

Sage Zinzolin laughed, as Looker's team gathered around in shock. "Ah-ha, you sound so 'appy to speak to me. Tell me, 'ow is your search for ze Sage Ryoku?"

"You... You orchestrated the move to get him out, didn't you?"

Zinzolin clapped. "I'm impressed by your powers of deduction, Detective! Yes, zat was me! Monsieur Ryoku is safe wiz me now, hidden from you until we can leave ze city. I would give up, mon ami. You will not find us."

"I will find you, you know," Looker said, determination etched on his face. "Or I will at least bring you to justice. You disgust me." He hung up angrily.

"Are you alright boss?" Tash said, Croagunk also looking concerned.

"No!" Looker snapped, picking up his pace. He glared out at the sprawling city of Driftveil, where somewhere two Sages, wanted criminals, were laughing at him, hiding, plotting their freedom. It had made him angry all of a sudden. "I'm not being mocked like this! We're better than them! Ready or not, here I come, Team Plasma!"

 **(***)**

 **A/N: Well, that was exhilarating. Probably one of my favourite chapters to write, if I'm being honest.**

 **Next chapter- one city. Two Sages. One angry Looker. The search continues...**

 **Thanks for reading, as always; if anyone is kind enough to favourite/follow this or me in general, it would make my day. Likewise, if anyone wants to review with glowing praise or feedback suggestions, I'll be grateful for anything, so long as it isn't flames.**

 **For now, ya boy, out!**


	8. Frostbite

**A/N: Here we are folks! It's ya boy, bringing us Chapter 8 of The Chase.**

 **Last time we left our plucky Detective Looker frustrated by the seeming escape of Sage Ryoku into Driftveil City, but not to fear. It's about damn time Looker came up with a plan to catch his escaped Sage.**

 **This chapter will be longer than usual, even potentially longer than the last one (these are definitely the two longest yet), but I hope you enjoy!**

 **(***)**

Somewhere in Unova, a phone rang...

"Yes?" answered a clipped, precise voice.

"The mission to bust out Sage Ryoku was a 100% success. He is safe with Sage Zinzolin now."

"I know. I saw. And neither Ghetsis, nor the Shadow Triad were rescued."

"As per the plan, as per what you suggested on the phone. Make it look like we were rescuing everyone but not try so hard with the others, and only escape with Ichiri."

"Yes, although I think we should have at least sent somebody to look like they were rescuing the Triad. Looker will be suspicious of why nobody went to rescue our ninjas, and why only one Grunt was sent to liberate Ghetsis."

"Oh, you suggest that now? What good does that do now?"

"Calm yourself, my friend. Have you heard from Ryoku?"

"Yes. I'm pushing ahead with the plan. I trust you're ready?"

There was a pause. "I will play my part."

There was an even longer pause. "...What?"

"Excellent." There was a brief moment of static on the line. "I will contact Francois Zinzolin, and tell him the preparation is finished. Now begins our plan."

"And you will tell the others what, exactly?"

"I will stress, do not hand yourselves in, but at the same time, do not fight arrest too much. For our plan to succeed, Looker must have arrested every Sage." There was a thoughtful pause. "You are ready to do as instructed, my friend?"

"Of course," came the snapped reply. "Contact Zinzolin. Don't worry about me."

"Understood. I'll contact him immediately. Long reign Team Plasma." The phone clicked off before the reply could come…

 **(***)**

The storm of earlier had finally made it to Driftveil in the late evening, picking up in ferocity and strength as it passed over the water channel in between Castelia, Nimbasa and Driftveil. Hot air from the desert was mixing with cold waters to create a sort of miniature hurricane, gale-force winds throwing the rain at the city. The deluge crashed down on Driftveil so hard that every droplet became dancing spray, every droplet contending with the others for supremacy in the air, waiting to splash down.

Looker was still fuming. He was seriously angry with how he'd had Ryoku locked up in a cell, how everything seemed to be going right, before the Sage slipped out of his grasp and escaped, the other Sages mocking him for it. The last time he'd felt this low after letting his quarry escape was in Sinnoh, on that fateful day but that was a darkness he wasn't prepared to admit to his new team just yet. It was a horrible feeling to Looker, and his failure had got to him greatly; he was swinging between morose misery and furious rage.

Tash, Reece, Hilda and Croagunk were sat beside him in the conference room of the Driftveil City Police Station, all looking glum, although not as much as their leader. Any other day and such brilliance in pursuit of a criminal would have earned them a medal and, more importantly, would have caught the criminal. But not now.

The door at the side opened, and as everyone in the room except Looker rose, the rest of the Team, the ones who'd stayed behind in Castelia, walked through. Everyone in the room except Looker and Croagunk rose- Lookee remained sat down, with his head in his hands, and Croagunk sat beside him.

"Looker what's the matter?" Bianca said, looking concerned, completely forgetting the whole point of her being there.

Croagunk made a surprisingly concise and quick gesture to suggest Looker was depressed because he had small genitalia.

Looker too, for all his misery, laughed a little at the cheeky gesture, but hit Croagunk behind the head to tell him off. "Funny Croagunk. We're here because we failed, Bianca, remember? We let Ryoku slip out of our grasp..."

"And we ain't going to let it happen again," said Bastian, finishing Looker's sentence as he walked into the room after everyone else. He walked to a chair opposite Tash and grinned, squeezing his huge frame into the tiny chair. "Great job, Tash. You would've got 'em if the tires didn't bust, I reckon."

Tash smiled back. "Thank you."

"Well, this is very cute, hearing all the nice things you have to say about each other," came a soft voice from the doorway, "but it doesn't help the case. We can't charm Ryoku and Zinzolin out of hiding."

Everyone jumped to their feet, but Looker remained seated, now grinning at the sound of that familiar voice. "Well, maybe you could, Alexis. Although that might be against protocol?"

Laughing, a brown-haired woman with the most bright, twinkly, glittering green eyes stepped into the room, walking up to Looker and hugging him. "Welcome to Driftveil, Looker. It's been a long time."

It had. The woman greeting Looker was Alexis Reid, current Chief of Police in Driftveil City, and had been Looker's friend in Police Academy. A year older than him, Alexis had acted like a mentor to Looker, before graduating magna cum laude to the big wide world of policing. He hadn't realised she held such a high position, or that she'd moved to Unova.

Croagunk smiled at Alexis, reaching out a hand to her, but the Chief froze.

Looker realised. "I almost forgot, Alexis. Sorry." She wasn't scared of Pokemon anymore- in the Academy she had been mentally scarred after an Arcanine attacked her- but she still held a level of distrust towards them.

"It's fine," she said, quickly snatching Croagunk's hand and shaking it. "I've heard about your infamous Croagunk. He's harmless, so it's good." She moved on quickly, looking a little nervy. "Right, let's begin, shall we?"

"Yeah, ah wanna get started. It's about time ah did somethin' 'gainst them Plasma fools," came a gruff voice from the door in the most country accent you would ever hear. Ah yes…

Looker turned to see a stocky, middle aged man wearing brown chaps, a brown jacket and a large white ten-gallon hat. His brown, honest eyes were framed by brown, tufty hair, and he carried a large suitcase with him, similar to Looker's suitcase of disguises.

"Gym Leader Clay," Alexis said, nodding courteously, as the teens waved, recognising him. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Hey kids! Long time no see! Ah, sure ah'd come!" Clay said, as he shook Looker's hand- Looker noted the rough skin from years of hard work. "Ah want ma revenge on those Sages!"

"Revenge?" Looker asked.

"Damn straight! That Zinzolin bastard conned me a couple'a years back! Ah trusted him, as a respected banker, to get a good price for a mine ah no longer wanted- next thing ah knew, he found as many property loopholes as he could, and ah wake up having lost half'a my mines! Sage Bronius owns 'em all now!"

"Oh my," Looker said. "Well yes, as you well know then, Zinzolin is cunning. We need to take special care around him."

"That's why I asked Gym Leader Clay for help," Alexis said. "His Ground-types may just prove useful against Zinzolin's Poison-types."

"But even then, we have to deal with Ryoku's Bugs," argued Hilda.

Reece smiled. "Nope! Ryoku only managed to grab one Pokeball before he escaped- his Shedinja."

Looker nodded, understanding- Shedinja had been knocked out in the fray to capture him by Croagunk, and even if Ryoku had healed it, it only took one super effective hit to knock it out. "Never mind that. Finding the Sages before they escape the city is our major priority. Alexis, what's the news on that?"

"Our ground teams haven't found anybody as of yet, and our new airborne heat-seeking infrared hasn't picked them up. Nobody's left though- all exits, all avenues of escape, have been closed off."

"Then they're still here," Looker said, nodding.

"They are," Bastian said, opening his laptop and passing it to Tash to read. "And I know where they are."

A stunned silence filled the room.

"Boy, ya better know what yer talking about," said Clay, finally.

Tash nodded as she read Bastian's notes. "Of course. Looker, remember what I told you about Zinzolin on your first day here?"

"You told me a lot of things," Looker said, trying to remember. "Poison, Psychic, Ghost and Dark type user, from Hearthome, French accented.."

"And, his job. Zinzolin is not only a banker- he's Unova's biggest real estate broker, and his company owns around a quarter of Unova's empty buildings. Including many in Driftveil."

"But how do you narrow it down?" Anna said, quietly.

Bastian grinned toothily. "Well, remember the time we tried to arrest Zinzolin? He was wearin' a scarf and gloves, in the middle of the day in Castelia, where the hot desert winds blow in from the north. It ain't just for that day either- he wears it everywhere, from what I've seen on surveillance."

Tash paused for impact. "He's used to the cold. And there's a building in Driftveil that is very cold, so cold in fact that anyone inside would not show up on a heat-seeking camera. That building is owned by Zinzolin's company, and has been for over 6 months- any offers for it have been rejected. I reckon he's adapted it as a base."

"Where?" Bianca asked.

Bastian looked triumphant. "The Cold Storage."

Silence descended once more as people turned this over in their heads.

"Bastian," Anna said, finally, "you deserve a pay rise."

"Damn yer good!" Clay said, slapping him heartily on the back. "Ever considered bein' a Detective?"

Bastian shrugged it off. "I'm happy here on the team, sir! Well, Chief Reid, what do we do now?"

Alexis looked shocked. "Don't look at me! It's Looker's job to organise us!"

Looker's head popped up. "No way! You're higher ranking than me, and this is your city!"

"Ah, but you are a Detective, pursuing a fugitive into my city. The directive says the lead officer in pursuit outranks a city official any day. And besides, it is your investigation, not mine."

Looker sighed- she'd trumped him with the protocol. That's why she ranked higher than him. "Fine, you win. I'm in charge." He paused. "Unless Clay..."

Clay laughed, barking. "Don't bring me into this, son! Yer the boss!"

Croagunk put his hand up, suggesting he'd like to be in charge, but Looker blanked him. "Fine. Let's go to this Cold Storage, team. And on the way, could someone please explain to me what the hell it is, since I'm the only one here who doesn't know?"

 **(***)**

In the southernmost section of Driftveil City, part of the expansive commercial harbour holds every single container of cargo that comes into the port, storing it until further distribution. In the middle of the sprawling maze of steel boxes nestles a small area where wild grass grows, and where ice spreads across the floor- this is because of the giant cooling machines in the area, powered by immense, whirring generators. This is the Cold Storage of Unova.

Looker shivered as the group slowly moved its way through the containers, frost crunching under their feet from the cold. He felt hemmed in by the towering walls of steel, the biting cold emanating off their walls and piercing right through him. It didn't help that it was dark. There was a fuzzy glow from LED lamps dangling at random intervals, but the night was setting in early in Driftveil. The storm had remained too: rain was lashing down, hammering on the metal containers, and turning freezing when it hit the cold air. Combined with strong winds, they were nightmare conditions for the team to be caught in.

He turned to Hilda, trudging through the ice beside him looking thoughtful. "Did nobody ever think this was suspicious?" he asked, raising his voice as a gust of wind howled past. "I mean, you've got around five square miles of containers being refrigerated, but there's nothing in them! Surely that's a little odd?"

Hilda shrugged. "I think people assumed that Zinzolin's company found a bidder interested in using it for cold storage, and that they were running it. I remember seeing him here once actually, when we were passing through. Ghetsis got him off the hook that time."

"He won't this time," said Bastian determinedly, cracking his knuckles. "We'll get Zinzolin, and Ryoku too."

Cheren was shivering worse than Looker, and his teeth chattered as he spoke. "This amount of cold air is just stupid. How can Zinzolin like this?"

"Zinzolin loves ice, and everything cold to go with it," Tash answered, goosebumps on her pale face. "If it wasn't for Sage Gorm being an Ice-type expert, Zinzolin would claim that type for himself. His Weavile is by far his favourite Pokemon."

"A sneaky, furtive, evil Pokemon," Looker said. "Like master, like Pokemon." He was cut short by loud, raised voices suddenly piercing through the dusk sky. The team fell silent instantaneously, and flattened themselves against the cold containers, as around the corner, in an area of tall grass, Zinzolin and a shivering Ryoku paced in a circle, while two Grunts, the same pair who rescued Ryoku, stood on guard outside the open doors of a very large container, their faces and fingers blue from the cold. Croagunk nodded in satisfaction as he saw the bandage on the arm of the female Grunt, from where he'd shot her that very morning as they fled.

Looker put his finger to his lips, and everyone nodded, listening in as their fingers inched closer to Pokeballs, itching to throw their Pokemon out to fight the two Sages. But Looker was wary- he knew the power Zinzolin had, and he knew it would be difficult even for 12 people and their Pokemon to take down even one Sage, let alone two. So he listened.

"...You think Looker came?" Ryoku said, in his immaculate English.

Zinzolin waved a hand. "Ha! I KNOW zat 'e will come! Looker is no idiot! 'e will work out zat we are 'ere soon, if not now. Even if 'e goes to check every property I own in Driftveil on ze way, 'e will find us. I just 'ope zat ze extraction team arrives before zat."

Ryoku smiled weakly. "You didn't hear what the other Sages said, huh?"

"What did zey say?" Zinzolin asked in his strong French accent, paling a little.

"All my work is done. Stage 1 of the grand Team Plasma scheme, complete. My work is done."

Zinzolin paused. "So zey don't need you free anymore?"

"No. Apparently the whole breakout was a mistake. Stage 2 begins now. They told me, you know what needs to happen for Stage 2 to be complete..."

Zinzolin looked furious. "'ow dare zey? After all zat les Grunts and I 'ave done! Zey expect me to do zat, to go quietly into Looker's arms, ready for ze cells! I know ze plan needs it, but zis is not 'ow I go!" He suddenly drew every Pokeball on his belt at once, and six Pokemon appeared snarling around him- an Arbok, a Skuntank, a Gengar, a Mandibuzz, a Weavile and the infamous brute, Drapion. "Sage Zinzolin will not go down wizzout a fight! Come and get me Looker, mon ami!" He yelled this last bit out to the entire docks, the echo reverberating off the containers.

"Can we go inside?" Ryoku asked. "I can't feel my nose anymore..."

Zinzolin scoffed. "Bah! Zis is affreux! Am I ze only one who doesn't suffer from ze cold?"

"You are wrapped up rather warm, sir," the male Grunt on the door pointed out. "And you are used to this. Whereas I wasn't prepared for an Arctic expedition when I signed up..."

Zinzolin tutted. "Fine. Go inside, to plan battle strategies and warm up. Zere is no point making everyone unhappy..."

Ryoku turned on his heel and rapidly retreated into the container, the Grunts on his tail, and Zinzolin remained outside, dark, slitty eyes darting about as he observed the Cold Storage, whistling a ditty as his Pokemon took up defensive positions, waiting.

Hilda turned to Looker. "Stage 2? The Plan? What are they talking about?" she whispered.

Looker shook his head, not knowing, intrigued yet worried at the same time. "I have no idea."

"God, he's arrogant," Reece muttered. "He is _really_ starting to get on my nerves."

"What's our plan?" Tash asked, hushed.

"Lemme at him!" Clay breathed, fingers tapping impatiently on Pokeballs, as if he couldn't restrain himself. "Y'all know ah wanna hit that son-of-a-bitch as hard as ah can! I need payback!"

"Patience," Cheren whispered, patting the Gym Leader. "You'll get your revenge soon. But I don't think a full frontal assault is the best thing..."

Looker was trying to figure out a plan, working on what he had (six Police Officers, a Gym Leader and three top Trainers), what was in front of him (a bottleneck alley, a wall of containers, only one exit), and what Zinzolin had (six super-powerful Pokemon, another Sage, an injured Grunt and a Grunt with a machine gun, plus the Grunts' Pokemon). Then Alexis, who had remained quiet until now, tapped him on the shoulder. "Huh?"

"I have an idea," Driftveil's Chief whispered, before bending down to whisper it in his ear.

Looker paused, taking it all in, then grinned at the end. "That's why you were my mentor. That's brilliant! That might just work, if we can fight back against Zinzolin. Go, go and do it now! I'll brief the others..." As Alexis ran off, he told the others in short what she'd planned. "Any questions?"

"I guess that's why she's Chief in Driftveil," Anna said, smiling. "That might just work."

Cheren and Clay both frowned. "So basically, our plan IS a full-frontal assault?" Cheren asked sardonically.

"Of course," Looker nodded. "And you do it like this." He suddenly twisted, turning round the corner with Croagunk on his shoulder and striding purposefully towards Zinzolin. "Francois Zinzolin, mon ami! It's good to see you again! I haven't seen you since Castelia..."

"Looker!" the Sage snapped, as his Pokemon roared. His Drapion grinned, and chuckled in the most menacing way Looker had ever heard a Pokemon laugh, remembering the Detective. "You found me!"

"After some tricky Detective work, yes." Looker flashed his badge, as the Grunts and Ryoku came running from inside the container. "I've come to arrest you and Sage Ichiri Ryoku for conspiracy to commit treason as a leading member of Team Plasma."

"Bah!" Zinzolin grinned like a Sharpedo as the Grunts drew their weapons and his Pokemon circled Looker, making Croagunk a little nervous. "You and what army, monsieur?"

"This army!" came the yell from the corner, and Zinzolin wheeled in shock to see the Police, the young Trainers and Clay advancing on him. Many Pokemon were out including Braviary, Reece's Porygon-Z, Clay's Palpitoad and more, and guns were drawn, Clay holding a six-shooter that was pointed steadily at the Sage.

Ryoku looked stunned. "Shit. I think Looker wins."

Zinzolin shook himself. "Non! Looker shall never win! Get 'im!" He pulled something from his belt, and Looker raised his eyebrows in shock as Zinzolin dropped the smoke bomb...

Grey smog blasted out around him, covering the area, and Looker felt the air ripple around him as Pokemon moved. He heard behind him the surprised noise Ryoku made; trying to flee in the darkness, the Sage had run into the wall that was Reece's Metagross. The sturdy Pokemon had blocked off the only exit, the way Looker's group had come in. Looker didn't have time to smile though, as a wayward Sludge Bomb fizzed over his head, Croagunk dodging it and disappearing into the cloud.

"Get him team!" Looker yelled. "You know the plan, get them boxed in!" He was cut short by a random burst from a Plasma gun, and he dived to the floor to avoid it.

Something lurched in the darkness, and as he looked up a tail slammed to the floor beside him, as Zinzolin's Arbok glared menacingly down at him, fangs bared viciously, jabbing out to try and bite Looker. He rolled to one side to avoid it, but the tail smashed down into the ground again, stopping him from moving, and the Arbok cried out happily, having cornered its victim. The long tail started to quickly lift Looker up and wrap around him, constricting him tightly in the Arbok's coils, making him choke as he lost breath, as the serpent's head loomed overhead, preparing to sink its teeth into Looker's flesh with a Bite, the pattern on its chest sinisterly grinning at the same time...

At the last moment the Arbok was hit in the chest with a blast of Psychic energy that knocked it back from Looker, where it lay coiled protectively, hissing.

Reece appeared through the clouds, his Porygon-Z at his side, Looker's saviour. "Get it Z! Ice Beam!"

The Ice Beam collided with a Gunk Shot in mid air, splattering everywhere, making Looker gasp as a blob struck his finger and burnt him until he wiped it off. The Arbok uncoiled its full length, hissing, before lunging into a jump, fangs bared in a Fire Fang attack. Z hit it in mid-leap with a Tri Attack, but it didn't seem to have much effect, and Arbok hit home on Reece's Pokemon with full force. As Z cried out, feeling the full effects of a burn, Reece yelled "Come on Z, Psychic now!", which prompted the Virtual Pokemon to shake itself, willing itself on for its master. Its eyes glowed as it glared into Arbok's terrifying visage defiantly, before from close range the blast of Psychic energy ripped into the Cobra Pokemon, launching it back and across the grass into the side of a container, the impact of the metal combining with the super-effective Psychic move to knock Arbok out.

Looker pulled himself up, and kicked the Cobra in the chest to be sure. "One down," he said happily, relieved at finally beating one of Zinzolin's Pokemon. "Nice work Reece, Z!" Before they could reply he ran off into the smog. He still needed to find Zinzolin…

The storm had reached the docks fully now, the gales blowing the smoke away, revealing the scene to Looker even through the cold, torrential rain. Bianca was down, out cold, along with most of Cheren's Pokemon except his Samurott and Unfezant, and a couple of Pokemon Looker knew belonged to Hilda but couldn't name; the rest of the team seemed to be in good shape.

Not only that, but they were having their own successes. Along with Arbok, Zinzolin's Gengar and Skuntank, the latter with a gaping wound in its eye socket that looked like it had been torn open, were down. Blood dripped from the jaws of the culprit, the furiously battling Krokorok of Clay, and stained the icy floor as the Gym Leader led a charge against his nemesis, pushing Zinzolin back. As Looker watched, Zinzolin's vulture-like Mandibuzz fell too, to rather strange circumstances- a Pokemon of Hilda's Looker recognised, a Galvantula, had found a group of wild Vanillite living in the long grass, and had got them to gang up on the Mandibuzz, finally making it fall to an Electroweb, the knocked out bird nearly impaling itself on an icicle, a wild Herdier tearing at its limp body with Bites.

Looker spotted Zinzolin looking very angry, trying to get his Grunts to fight back with their Pokemon and help him (it appeared their guns had been wrecked by an unknown Pokemon). "'ow are zey so much stronger zan last time? We are ze elite: it should be easier zan zis for us!"

Looker charged towards the Sage, intent on pushing him back in the container, leaping over the fallen body of the Skuntank as the earth shook from an Earthquake attack by Clay's Krokorok. But Looker hadn't taken into account one thing- Zinzolin still had two Pokemon left out there, fighting to the knockout for their freedom.

"Wea VILE!" A blur of black lunged at Looker screaming, claws glinting in a Night Slash attack that slashed through Looker's jacket into his arm, making him yell as he fell over flailing. The Weavile laughed triumphantly as it landed lightly and nimbly on his chest, digging its foot claws into him, dodging a punch from Looker acrobatically before landing an Ice Punch into his chest, the sheer cold biting into the wound. The Weavile, Zinzolin's cunning favourite Pokemon, prepared another Night Slash that would cut through his throat...

Looker swore as the ground suddenly erupted around him, as something large emerged with a Metal Claw attack that parried the Night Slash intended for him, a loud clang reverberating through the air. Clay's Excadrill, the Gym Leader's prize Pokemon, had arrived, digging up at the optimum moment, and Looker thanked Clay with a nod as he scrambled back up, while Excadrill hit Weavile with a Drill Run before digging back under.

Weavile defiantly spat out a tooth, grinning a bloody, evil grin at Looker, before slowly walking forward with its own Metal Claw. This time though a Focus Blast flew from nowhere to impact with it, and as the dust cleared, Weavile pulled itself up to come face to face with a pissed-off Croagunk, standing in a karate stance defensively in front of Looker.

"Croa. Gunk," he said, which Looker hoped translated as 'over my dead body'. Knowing Croagunk, it was more likely to mean 'no, he still owes me money'.

Weavile smirked, then suddenly leapt forward with a Metal Claw that Croagunk blocked with a Poison Jab, but Looker's Pokemon couldn't dodge the Night Slash after, or the Ice Punch, or...

Before Weavile could hit the next Ice Punch, Croagunk jabbered a gruesome battle cry, an orange aura flying up around himself as his eyes glowed, and a glowing fist threw a very powerful, 4x effective Revenge attack at Weavile. This was followed up by a Rock Smash, and a Poison Jab, and a Rock Smash, as Croagunk gave Weavile no room to manoeuvre. Weavile tried one Metal Claw, which hit home, but Croagunk retaliated viciously with another Revenge, before a final Focus Blast exploded against Zinzolin's stalwart...

Croagunk stood triumphantly over the knocked out Dark-Ice type, fists balled. "Croa!"

"Nice work buddy," Looker said, patting Croagunk on the back, before he turned to face Zinzolin in the centre. The two Grunts were knocked out, slumped against the inside wall of the container, and as Looker watched Bastian strode towards the container holding a struggling Ryoku in a headlock, the big and powerful arms of the Policeman barely having to strain themselves to keep Ryoku in check. Zinzolin stood in the doorway, his only Pokemon left standing being his mega-powerful Drapion, which looked battered and weary, ready to just give up the fight, such was the ferocity of the Police attack. All of Zinzolin's others had been returned to their Ultra Balls, except for Skuntank, whose body lay in a puddle, its fur sodden as rain lashed down.

"Face it Zinzolin, it's over," Hilda said, looking quite battered, but to illustrate her point she threw up a Master Ball into the air, finally releasing Reshiram into the battle, the cold air condensating into mild drizzle around the blazing tail.

"No! Never!" Zinzolin said desperately. "I fight until ze end! Drapion, Cross Poison!"

The Ogre Scorp looked at his master as if he was stupid- not even the brute Drapion could take on a fully healthy Legendary and a whole host of other Pokemon. Drapion shook his head adamantly, raising his arm pincers in a gesture of surrender.

"What?!" Zinzolin was beside himself. "Zis is outrageous! Attack, attack! Do it now, sacre bleu!"

Drapion sighed, not wanting anything more to do with it, before reaching with his tail pincer to Zinzolin's belt, pushing the button on his Pokeball and shutting himself back away in it, leaving Zinzolin alone.

"Mon dieu!" the French Sage yelled. "Must I do everyzing myself?!" He reached inside his big purple coat, and Looker realised immediately what he was doing, what the bulge in his clothing really was.

"No!" Looker yelled, sprinting forward as Zinzolin pulled a pistol from his coat, lining up on and pulling the trigger once, twice before Looker, charging at him, wrenched the gun out of his palm, sending the next shot wide as the gun skidded across the icy floor to rest at the feet of Hilda.

"Oh no you don't," Looker muttered grimly, throwing his knee up into the Sage's stomach, making him groan in pain. A flying elbow from Zinzolin smashed Looker in the side of the face, and Looker bit down hard on his gums by accident, drawing blood. Zinzolin fought dirtily, but so did Looker: as Zinzolin grabbed him by the shoulders to prepare to headbutt him, Looker spat the blood he had in his mouth into Zinzolin's eyes, before following up with a kick to the groin (if it wasn't Police protocol, it should be) and another knee in the stomach.

Looker grimaced as he hauled the groaning Zinzolin to his feet to prepare to arrest him, but the moaning Sage suddenly jumped out of his grasp and stumbled into the container he'd held as his base, Ryoku managing to finally wriggle clear of Bastian's immense grip to join him.

Zinzolin glared at Looker. "You shall not win zis!" he snarled, turning around and limping quickly towards a wall rack where several loaded shotguns hung, preparing to get a gun to shoot Looker.

"We've got him!" Looker yelled triumphantly. "Get the doors!"

As Zinzolin turned with one of the guns in his hand, Reece and Cheren ran to the double doors at the front of the container, pushing as hard as possible to shut them. The Sage realised he'd been tricked, and had stupidly trapped himself in the container in the heat of the moment. "No!" He opened fire with the shotgun as the doors slammed shut, the weapon peppering the metal, but despite being slightly dented the door shielded the Police from any danger. "Merde!"

"Someone get the back door!" Looker shouted, as Zinzolin reloaded and tried to blast a hole in the door.

"Done it already," said Clay, coming back around the front as Looker rapidly slid the bar lock across. "They're trapped."

"And in the nick of time too," Tash said, as a loud whirring noise was heard overhead.

Looker stared up, into the pouring rain, squinting to see into the murky shadows that suddenly fell across him as a monstrous steel behemoth towered above him. The final piece of Alexis' plan had arrived, driven along its rails across the length of Driftveil Docks to rest over the Cold Storage- the port's container crane. Normally it would be used to unload metal containers from cargo ships, safely transferring them onto the shore, but today, it had a different purpose.

Looker's Pokegear rang, barely audible over the noise of the rain and the whirring of machinery as the crane started to come down and latch onto the container Zinzolin and Ryoku were trapped in. "Hello?"

"I guess our plan worked huh?" Alexis' voice was loud in his ear.

"It was an excellent plan," Looker agreed- by distracting Zinzolin with a battle, they'd pushed him further and further back towards the container until they could trap him in it. "Good job you can operate this thing. But what now?"

"I'll take this," at this point the container started rising into the air, pulled up by the crane, which started rolling along its rails, "to one of the freighters currently docked in the port, the Orient Star. On the Star's deck is a wonderful little team Aurelius sent me called a SWAT team; I'll let them circle and surround the container, before disarming the Sages, taking them into custody."

Looker nodded, as the crane started to disappear with its cargo. "Excellent! Good job!" He was cut short by a groan behind him, and he whirled to see the cause of it. Looker had forgotten that two bullets from Zinzolin's pistol had found their mark before he stopped the Sage- that target was Anna, whose side was bleeding profusely, a gaping hole in her white T-shirt. "No!"

"Looker, what's the matter? Looker?!"

"Get me a medic team down here, now!" Looker shouted, running over to Anna's side and turning the phone off as he cradled the young Asian girl's head in his arms, ripping off his jacket and dabbing at the wounds, desperately trying to stem the tide of blood leaving her body and mixing with the ice on the floor. He realised that Bianca was still down too, and that several Pokemon lay injured around him, needing urgent attention from Nurse Joy and the hospital staff. "Anna…"

Her eyelids fluttered, the delicate black makeup she wore running as a tear trickled down her cheek, her breathing ragged. "Did... did we win?"

"We won," Looker said hoarsely, nodding, his own tears at seeing his team mate critically injured mixing with the rainwater that poured down his face. "Come on Anna, fight it!"

"I will," she said softly, with a determined edge to her voice. She coughed delicately, and now her eyes were losing focus, starting to mist over beneath her glasses. "I'm... gonna make it. I will.. I will... I have a job to do…" She sighed, a long, drawn out breath, and those deep black eyes flickered softly, before they closed over, her face looking angelic and peaceful.

"Anna!" Looker cried, alarmed, feeling for a pulse frantically, desperate to not lose an Officer on duty, trying not to choke on his anger. He did not want to be responsible for this woman's death...

"Gunk," Croagunk said softly, his hand pressed down against the side of her neck. He took Looker's hand and gently placed it at the spot, and Looker's heart skipped a beat; the faintest of heartbeats was there, still fighting death.

He heaved a sigh of relief, joy washing over him in waves. "Thank God." He lifted Anna's head and pressed it to his chest, holding her tightly, water cascading over his fringe and down his nose even though the storm had finally abated, even though the moon and stars were now shining brightly over him, free of their prison of cloud, glimmering in the freezing night sky. He had come so close to losing Anna, to losing Zinzolin and Ryoku, to failing, but it had been a success in the end. Looker had won...

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And there we have it. I hope you enjoyed the ending, although I wonder what this Stage 2 means? If only there was someone who knew…**

 **Next chapter- well, that's two Sages down. I think reporting back to the boss and getting on with finding the others is on the agenda, don't you?**

 **Thanks for reading folks, as always. If you're feeling kind and want to review, step right up- I'll be happy for glowing praise, and grateful for constructive advice. And I always love it when someone favourites/follows me or the story too!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	9. The Burial

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. Welcome to Chapter 9 of the Chase!**

 **I've been debating whether I can use Kalos and Alolan Pokemon in metaphors, or to make brief appearances, during this fic. Obviously I'm not being so strict as to only use Unovan Pokemon, but for me it still feels a little weird to bring Pokemon from those games into this fic. Food for thought, definitely- any opinions on it would be appreciated.**

 **Anyway, last time we had that wonderfully chaotic little battle, which gave Looker two Sages, but not without cost. I think we need to find out what exactly has happened to Anna and Bianca, don't you?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

Commissioner Aurelius sat alone in his office once more, watching over Castelia City with a thoughtful look on his face, bags under his eyes where he'd stayed up most of the night. The first rays of a late morning sunrise were starting to throw the shadows of the streets into the light, and commuters were starting to appear in force, scurrying once more on their routines that fascinated the Commissioner so much. A lone, loud, mournful boat horn sounded as Aurelius watched a large freighter approaching the city, headed for the harbour of Driftveil, and a tug boat left Castelia to join it, leaving from the pier that until recently had been occupied by Sage Ryoku's boat, the Team Plasma escape launch.

Thinking about the events of the day before made Aurelius shudder uncomfortably, thinking of the hectic rush that had been the chase to find Ryoku and arrest him again. Then the word 'Driftveil' stuck in his head, an echo that seemed to surround his office, and he sighed deeply, heavily. The conflict at the Cold Storage had been vicious, and Anna Maeda had been left hanging onto life, clinging to it by a thread; he hoped to Arceus he wouldn't see such brutality towards his investigating officers again. Zinzolin had been excessively violent...

He started fidgeting, fiddling nervously with the ring on his fat finger as he rose to walk around his desk, a difficult task for a man of his size. He leaned against the pillar beside the huge window that made up his wall, and tried to lay his mind at peace, taking a sip from a mug of coffee laced with Victreebel sap (of course Looker wasn't the only man in existence who had discovered how well this worked). He watched, as rush hour began to set in in Castelia, as the streets were slowly rammed, then his gaze flicked up, watching the tug dance around the huge freighter and attach itself like a Kangaskhan and its baby, surging forward along the waterway, bound for... Driftveil...

Aurelius' train of thought was interrupted by the loud, insistent ringing of the old, corded phone on his desk. He sighed happily, putting the coffee down, and picking up the phone. "Yes?"

"Sergeant Forsyth sir," came the rasp. "Looker and the team are on their way up."

Aurelius nodded, his throat sticking; they'd bring news of Anna. "Thank you Forsyth." He paused, and coughed. "You sound a little... under the weather, Sergeant."

"No sir, I'm fine," came the reply, followed by a hacking cough sound. "Just a little tired. Long night. For all of us."

"Hear hear," Aurelius said mournfully, putting the phone down and sliding back into his chair as the elevator bell dinged.

Looker was the first to emerge as the doors slid open, Croagunk perched on his shoulder as always; there were dark shadows beneath the eyes of the smoking Toxic Mouth Pokemon, who obviously didn't like his master's invigorating coffee blend. Tash came next, shoulders slumped followed by Bastian, who looked sullen, a dark cloud brewing in his eyes. Reece was perhaps most lively, having really taken to Victreebel-laced coffee, but even he lacked his usual fire and spark, his usual happiness. Hilda looked solemn, barely half as happy as usual, and Cheren and Bianca...

Aurelius frowned. "Where are Cheren and Bianca?"

Looker saluted, a drawn-out, long, weary gesture. "Last night, sir, in Driftveil, Bianca was seriously injured by Zinzolin's Pokemon. She sprained her ankle trying to flee on the ice, and suffered serious poison damage from a Toxic attack Zinzolin's Skuntank fired at her, before it knocked her out. She's resting in Nuvema Town now, waiting for her ankle to heal before she rejoins the investigation, and Cheren's staying at her side while she heals."

"Good on him," Aurelius said. "Bastian, I've heard reports you were injured in the brawl?"

Bastian shook his head, not speaking to or looking at Aurelius, leaving Looker to talk. "His arm got torn up a little, sir, but he's told me he's fine now. He wants to get on with this investigation."

"Hmm... Zinzolin's Skuntank, the one who injured Bianca, was maimed by Clay's Krokorok..."

"Yes sir. I believe the fact it's missing an eye is infinitely better than what Cheren would have probably done to it when he found out it was responsible for Bianca's injury."

Aurelius nodded. "Zinzolin will be furious. Not only did you take out his Pokemon this time, but you left your mark on one of them."

"Yes sir. We've sorted Zinzolin and Ryoku out down in the cells, with the most secure cells we can find. Zinzolin's Pokemon, except the injured Skuntank have been locked away in evidence, along with all of his other personal effects, including another locked Pokeball."

"Another one?" Aurelius asked. "Ryoku had one too..."

"I know sir. We're looking into it now. Bastian, as interviewing officer, has been up most of the night questioning Zinzolin on his own, and we all joined him briefly for one session. Zinzolin... is even more arrogant than Ghetsis though."

"Is that possible?"

"Apparently so, sir. Very difficult to interview, often refusing to speak to us. I believe he's just a little furious that we beat him."

"And he shuts himself away in his own little world when Tash and Looker mention 'the Plan'," Hilda said quietly, the first time someone other than Aurelius and Looker had spoken.

"Yes, the secret little 'Plan'," Aurelius said, tracing a pattern in the dust of his desk with a finger. "How interesting that little slip of the tongue is..."

"Are you going to go and interview him, sir?" Tash asked. "You know, Commissioner's Interrogation Time? Ask him about 'The Plan'?"

"After all my meetings today, yes." Aurelius looked up at the team. "Good work team. A very successful operation, and the press haven't got a sniff of it."

"Thank you sir," said Reece. "We're sorry we let Ryoku slip out of our grasp."

"Don't be. Everything's fine now. Oh, and Reece?"

"Sir?"

Aurelius stood up from his chair, the first time Looker had seen him doing something other than sitting down; it was like watching a submarine surface. "After listening to accounts from all superior officers, about your recent conduct I've decided to give you a promotion to Corporal, based on your superb talent and actions on mission. The ceremony will be held when every last Sage has been captured. And I'm promoting you too Croagunk- I know you're technically a Detective, and that's not my department, but you're in my region, and I feel that you're deserving. I'm sure Chief Inspector LaDieux will be willing to grant me that request."

"Th-thank you sir!" Reece said, saluting sharply despite a little nervous wobble. Croagunk gave his usual two-fingered mock salute, and tried to put his cigarette out on Looker's coat, which looked remarkably clean and tidy considering the amount of blood and claw/bite marks it had gained the night before.

Hilda smiled. "That's a promotion, and a key to Driftveil, all in one day Reece!"

"Key to Driftveil?" Aurelius asked, raising his eyebrows.

Looker smiled weakly in return. "Every team member got a Key to the City last night, sir. A very quiet ceremony, in the dead of night, but nonetheless officially granted. A thank you from Gym Leader Clay for helping him defeat his long-time nemesis, and from Chief Reid for getting Team Plasma out of her city. They've even fixed the drawbridge now sir."

Aurelius nodded sitting down, and silence descended in the office, but Looker could see the Commissioner looked worried and anxious, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

"Umm... Looker?" he asked.

"Yes sir?"

"...Anna?" The name came out almost as a whisper.

"She'll make it."

Aurelius sighed a huge sigh of relief, relaxing back into his chair and wiping his brow. "Thank God for that..."

"While Bastian stayed up all night in the interviewing room, we spent most of the night sat by her bedside with her," Tash said. "We needed to make sure she was alright."

"It was a close thing," Hilda added.

"Too close," murmured Reece. "She nearly died."

"Croa..." Croagunk said, blowing a mournful smoke ring, putting the cigarette down in the Commissioner's ashtray and looking sad: the near-death of Anna had hurt him deeply (though he didn't like to show it), as she was always nice to him.

"She's on life support at the moment, sir," Looker said, speaking up. "Nurse Joy predicts she'll be off it in a week, and ready for active work in a fortnight. We were lucky- a couple of inches higher and she'd have died. They've removed the bullet, and it was unbelievably close to killing her."

"Thank God she survived," Aurelius breathed. "Though it means we're without three team members for at least a week now. Would you like me to transfer anyone in? Perhaps get Chief Reid involved more?"

"No sir," Looker said. "Our team can manage fine as it is. Maybe one more, at some point soon, but for now I think we're okay."

Aurelius nodded. "If you're sure. What are the team going to do today? I think you've all earned a day off..."

"Absolutely not sir," Bastian declared resolutely, speaking up for the first time in a croaking rumble; his voice was shot after the night before. "Not a chance."

"We know what happens when we take time off from hunting Team Plasma," Hilda said darkly, remembering her decision to take Looker for a Gym Battle and the chaos that followed. "No, we're staying on the hunt for them."

"I understand. A commendable attitude especially from you, Miss Grey, considering I don't technically employ you." The Commissioner paused. "There is something you could do for me though."

"Gunk.." Croagunk said, curious.

Aurelius reached down into his desk and pulled out a single Pokeball, placing it carefully in the palm of Reece.

"Is this the locked Pokeball, Commissioner?" Reece asked, confused. "Or yours?"

"Neither. I talked to you earlier about Zinzolin's Skuntank, and its injuries on the mission. What happened to it, by the way?"

"Took it to the Pokemon Centre," Bastian rumbled deeply. "It'll take a month or so for it to be healed fully, and then we'll take it back to Zinzolin. If he ain't behind bars, anyway."

Aurelius nodded. "But Zinzolin's Skuntank wasn't the only Pokemon to be hurt in that battle... Anna's Ambipom died."

There was a shocked silence as this sank in.

"No..." Tash breathed, stunned by this revelation.

Aurelius nodded solemnly, his fat chin wobbling. "She died when Zinzolin fired the second bullet, missing the humans; it went through her skull, between the eyes."

Looker remained silent as Aurelius talked; it was his twist of Zinzolin's wrist that diverted the gun away from the humans, and he was responsible for Ambipom's death. Then he spoke up. "It's my fault..."

"No!" Bastian said suddenly, fiercely meeting Looker's gaze. "You had no idea where that bullet would go, and by distracting Zinzolin you saved Anna's life!"

"He's right Looker," Aurelius agreed. "Without you stopping him, Anna could have died. Anna won't know that her Pokemon is dead, and won't until she's out of hospital, but Ambipom died in the line of duty, and this means a Police burial is needed."

"You want us to do the service, sir," Tash said, understanding.

"Yes I do, and I regret that a full day of meetings means I can't go, but the rest of you should. You're all dressed smart, so a Police funeral will be simple. Go to the Dreamyard in Striaton City, and talk to the Gatekeeper about the Police memorial. Every Police Pokemon who died in the line of duty is buried by the memorial, and their name is inscribed on it after a little remembrance speech. Put Ambipom to rest, and let her be forever remembered, for the job she did in fighting crime, tyranny and injustice in Unova." Aurelius looked up at the team again. Was that a hint of a tear in the corner of his eye? "She deserves to rest in peace."

Looker nodded solemnly. "We can do that, sir. Come on people, let's bury her."

As the team trooped into the elevator, Looker glanced one last time into the office, nodding to the Commissioner sadly as the doors slid shut. It would be a soulful, sad day for the Police, but they would always remember how much they'd worked, and how Ambipom had been killed, in the struggle to secure peace in Unova, to bring the Sages to justice at last. As they descended in silence, Looker thought to himself and made a vow, a promise that he would not let anyone else, human or Pokemon, die on his team. He himself would fight to the death to ensure that they lived, and out loud, he announced his promise to them at last, that he would make sure they were safe, that they would be there until the end of Plasma...

 **(***)**

Looker felt uncomfortable, walking through Striaton City with the team. It had been a mere 24 hours since he'd came here with Hilda for lunch and a Gym Battle, which kick-started the entire Ryoku freedom bid and all the harm that followed. Looker's heart was heavy and hollow, and while he should have been happy that he'd arrested two of the six Sages on the run, he wasn't sure whether it was worth the sacrifice of one Pokemon.

Reece led the way through the city, a peaceful, rural place where people and Pokemon existed in harmony. Looker found himself wondering how Team Plasma could justify their aims when there was such beautiful tranquility in Striaton, and noted the vibrant architecture of the place. Something like architecture bored Croagunk though, and when Hilda started showing people the Trainer's School, he impatiently hopped off Looker's shoulder and started leading the way himself, even though he had no idea where he was going. Looker knew Croagunk was right though; when they were going to a funeral, they shouldn't be stopping for a look at the buildings.

Walking east through the city they came to the border, and, passing through a gate, arrived in a place so vast and derelict it put the Relic Castle to shame.

"Here we are," Tash said, as Croagunk stopped in awe. "The Dreamyard."

The Dreamyard lay in ruin, a crumbling, sprawling labyrinth of high concrete walls and dusty floors. Long grass and small saplings grew from the floor in patches, as nature assaulted the wreckage and tried to reclaim what the concrete had previously stolen, while metal poles poked haphazardly from the walls like bones sticking out of the corpse that the building had become. It had become a jungle, no longer the proud building it clearly used to be.

Little titbits of information flowed from the mouths of the Unovans as Looker listened, soaking up the knowledge about the building's past as they walked. It had been built as a research facility looking into the power of Dream Mist, a powerful, ethereal, almost magical substance that made the inhaler hallucinate, creating illusions that they'd realised their dreams. Some scientists had attempted to harness the power from a Musharna, a creature that created Dream Mist, but the experiment, blighted by human greed, went wrong. The facility was wrecked, and the scientists packed up and left, leaving the Musharna to claim the ruins as its home.

"Interesting," Looker nodded, taking it all in, as the Police approached an old man wearing a belt of tools, leaning against a pillar, a spade and pick at his feet. He stood upright as the police came to a halt.

"Morning," Bastian said, flashing his badge as he greeted the old man. "You'd be the Gatekeeper?"

"I am indeed," the old man nodded, picking up his tools. "The Commissioner phoned me this morning. You've got a Pokemon for the memorial?" When they nodded sadly, he shook his head. "I haven't had to do this for a while. It's sad. It's all because of this Team Plasma thing, I reckon. They preach about harmony, and yet they'll kill people who get in their way."

"Uh-huh," Tash said. "Ete died when we tried to arrest Team Plasma's Sage Zinzolin."

Croagunk looked questioningly at her, not because of hearing the Ambipom's name, but because he thought they weren't supposed to tell people they were after the Sages, but the Gatekeeper nodded. "I knew him a while back; he tried to buy this place off the Striaton Council. What a horrible man he was." He sighed, hefting his shovel over one shoulder. "Well, she died fighting for justice, and did her job well I assume, and gave everything she had to offer, even her life. That's inspiring, for someone to raise a Pokemon like that. Well, come on, follow me."

As the Police followed him inside the Dreamyard, towards a basement staircase, Looker's phone started ringing. He waved everyone else on, staying at the entrance with Croagunk, and answered it, noting the 'Unknown Caller' on the display. "Hello?"

"Detective Looker, at last," came the voice on the other end, a Dutch accent clear and thick. "Dis is Willem Rood."

The realisation hit Looker like a bomb, and he froze, taken completely unaware. "… Sage Rood?"

"The one and only. Dat was good! Even if you're de Detective who took down Galactic, I didn't expect you to be so quick."

Looker suddenly became furious. "How did you get this number? And how did Zinzolin get it before you?"

"Heh, I have my sources, my ways. I was de one who gave dis number to Zinzolin."

"What do you want, Rood?" Looker snapped. "Why do you play with us like this? Why do you lead us all astray while more and more people die?"

There was a pause. "Someone's had dat on deir chest for a while."

"Answer me!" The shout from Looker made Croagunk fall off his shoulder, and made several Trainers look over at the Detective in a worried way.

"Listen, Looker," Rood said, "I apologise for Zinzolin. He was… is, stupid, and I certainly do not want to cause death and injury. He and I disagree on a lot."

Now Looker was surprised. "Wait, what?"

"Yes… He rather despises young N. I meanwhile…" There was a pause. "Another story, for another time. Pleasure talking to you, Looker. Good luck with de hunt."

"Wait, don't go-" Looker was annoyed to hear the crunch of the line disconnecting. "Oh you're kidding me?!"

"Excuse me, mister?"

Looker turned to see a very small child holding a balloon, staring up at him. "Yes?"

"Mr Balloon no like Mr Shouty Man," the small girl said, picking her nose.

"And Mr Shouty Man no like evil people who make him angry," Looker said in a juvenile voice, ruffling the girl's ginger hair. "Now go back to your parents."

As he turned on his heel smartly, Looker started debating whether what Rood had said was true, whether the Dutchman really wanted harmony, and what he meant by 'under his nose'. His train of thought was slightly interrupted by Croagunk though, who used his lit cigarette to burst the child's balloon, making her cry. Good old Croagunk...

Heading down the stairs to the basement Looker saw the rest of his team gathered with the Gatekeeper around a small memorial, a slab of stone on the wall engraved with a Police badge, and the solemn epitaph, 'They Did Their Duty'. Around the badge were grouped names of Pokemon, the species they were (Looker counted a lot of Arcanine and Growlithe), their Trainer and the date at which they'd passed away. The latest addition was clearly visible, towards the bottom on one side- 'Ete, Ambipom, Cpl. Anna Maeda'.

The Gatekeeper finished reciting a speech he'd had prepared for the occasion, ending on the immortal words, 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust'. Tash wiped away a tear as she laid Ete's Pokeball inside a little hole dug into the ground, and the Gatekeeper slowly, solemnly shovelled the soil back in, committing Ete to the earth.

Looker walked towards the grave and the gathered Police, nodding to the Gatekeeper, who shouldered his spade and pick axe and walked off towards the exit without another word, his work done. He stood in silence for a few moments, reflecting on his memories of Anna's Pokemon, Croagunk stoic and solemn on his shoulder, but he had no idea what to say- he'd never been to a funeral before. The sadness and silence filled and overwhelmed the place.

"Ete I am sorry," he said finally, his throat thick with guilt and sorrow. "This is my fault, for redirecting the gun. I am responsible for your death, no matter whether my intentions were pure or not, and it should not have happened." He took a deep breath. "Thank you. Thank you for your work against Team Plasma. Thank you for your service, your kindness, your dedication, your commitment and your determination to overcome the enemy. You went above and beyond what you needed to do, you gave everything, and I have never seen a Pokemon who gave so much to do their duty. We will never forget you, or your sacrifice."

He hoped his words would do for the occasion, and from his coat pocket, Looker pulled a handful of white roses, beautiful flowers that had somehow on the journey remained in perfect, bright condition. He'd picked them on the way here, from the public garden of Castelia City, and he wished he could have given Ete more, but they would do. Their radiance shone in the darkish Dreamyard, a glimmer of beauty, a spark of hope, and he laid them down by the memorial. "Rest in peace, Ete."

As he stood up, the others murmured 'Rest in peace', an echo of remembrance, and he shuddered, feeling cold as he looked down on the tiny grave, a scene he did not want repeated.

"'Tis a horrible thing tae do, isn't it?"

Hilda turned slowly to look into the gloom of the corner of the room, where the shadow of the figure of a man was visible, hunched over a grave. "I'm sorry?"

"A funeral. 'Tis a horrible thing tae do. Ai come down here every third Sunday of the month, to pay mai respects for mai Octillery, mai first Pokemon. The first time ai did it, ai hated the feeling, the sadness, but ai'm glad tae come down here now- it helps me remember the great times ai had with mai Pokemon. Ai'll never forget him. Mai memories of him willnae die."

"And neither will ours of Ete," Tash said mournfully. "She was a brilliant Pokemon."

"Aye, and as yer memorial says, she did her duty. She didnae waste her life. And now she lies here, at peace in the Dreamyard, having lived her dreams with all of ye."

There was a pause, as everyone around Ete's grave who had known the Ambipom during Anna's time at the Police reflected on the memories they shared with her.

"Yeah," Reece said eventually. "She had a good life." He paused. "I just want this all to end. I can't wait for the day when we finally win, for Ete. And I don't know whether this is the Dream Mist, but I can see that day in my head, and I can finally see us winning."

The figure in the shadows paused as it stood up. "Aye, but this Dream Mist, tisnae real. 'Tis just illusions in your head. The dreams we realise with our own abilities are the real dreams."

Tash smiled, having dried her eyes. "That's very poetic and philosophical, Mr..."

"Gorm," Looker said suddenly, having not spoken for the past minute, figuring things out. He turned round. "Sage Alistair Gorm."

There was a chuckle from the shadows as the figure stepped forward, revealing a stout man in a brown business suit, a blue tie round his neck, a blue band around his brown Trilby hat. "Yer clever, laddie. Ye must be Detective Looker. Ai've heard quite a bit about you." He paused, as the rest of the team behind Looker recoiled in shock. "But what gave me away?"

"The Scottish accent, for one," Looker said, locking eyes with the Sage. "And visiting the grave of a Water-type, the type you master."

"Ai'm impressed," Sage Gorm nodded. "Ai didnae expect ye here, Looker. Although, ai'm sorry to hear Zinzolin took it too far. Genuinely."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Looker said wearily, drawing himself up to full height, Croagunk hopping off his shoulder to take a karate pose. "Although I don't suppose you're going to come quietly, are you? Without fuss, without a fight?"

"Ye know what, maybe ai might."

Looker was stunned. "What?"

"Ye heard. Ai'm coming quietly." Gorm appeared to hold out his hand to Looker through the gloom and mist, gesturing as if wanting a handshake. "Ai'm placing myself under yer arrest Looker. Ai willnae fight nae more."

Looker smiled, striding forward, hands delving into his coat pocket for the handcuffs. "A wise choice, Sage Gorm..."

He got no further when a fist lunged at him suddenly from the gloom, striking the side of his head a glancing blow; he was lucky he had flinched, or the blow would have been worse. As Looker reeled, everything became less fuzzy, much clearer, revealing Sage Gorm in a fighting stance, having just punched Looker.

The Scottish Sage laughed. "Hoots mon, ai didnae think ye'd be so stupid! Dream Mist, Detective; what we truly want is only an illusion in here."

Looker shook himself, trying to rid the Mist from his mind, preparing for the worst. After only 12 hours, he was involved in another Sage brawl, tired, mournful, battered and scarred, not ready for this. "Then we have no choice but to fight..."

Gorm's hand reached for his belt, and the 6 Ultra Balls that held his Pokemon. "Aye! And ai willnae be beaten like my wee friend Ryoku! Ai will win!"

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And there we have it. Stumbling into battle with another Sage so soon? Looker's going to need a lie down soon.**

 **Next chapter- Gorm vs Looker begins, but what havoc will the Dream Mist cause? And if there's so much Dream Mist, where the hell is that damn Musharna?**

 **Thanks for reading, as always! Drop me a review if you like (I'll happily take any praise or criticism, so long as it ain't flaming), or if you're feeling ultra-kind I'll never say no to favourites/follows of me or the Chase.**

 **For now, ya boy, out.**


	10. Dream Mist

**A/N: Hello all, it's ya boy. The big bad boss made it to double figures for the chapters, yo.**

 **Before I begin, I'd like to apologise for the lack of recent uploads from this account- getting home for Easter has taken more time than I thought. I'd also like to apologise if the uploads continue to be slow, as I'm going to be mid-exam season from now until June. I've written a bunch in advance though, so we should still be on track with this fic!**

 **I'd also like to take this chance to thank everybody who has reviewed/favourited this story, along with all those who follow it, and everyone who's read. I hope you've enjoyed it so far, and I hope you will continue to read!**

 **Anyway, I digress, we have a fic to get on with. So yeah, with that said, I think it's time we see how Looker intends to take on Gorm, don't you?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

Fighting Sage Gorm was the last thing Looker wanted at this time. Only the night before his team had been involved in a mass brawl with two of Gorm's fellow Sages, and while the Pokemon Centre in Castelia had done a fantastic job fully healing all involved, there was still slight fatigue, slight weariness in the eyes of the Pokemon. They were a little tired of the pace of this investigation, totally different to anything a lot of them had dealt with before, and the reluctance was clear, as every Pokemon the Police had stood beside Croagunk to face down Gorm. Looker himself needed a rest badly, but Gorm wasn't about to go down without a fight. And Looker wasn't going to let him get away when they'd cornered him at last.

From Aurelius' files on the Sages, Looker had learnt a fair bit about Gorm. With ties to Clan McCullen Inc, the world's largest weapons manufacturer, Gorm was every bit as powerful in the financial world as the other businessmen Sages. Physically too he himself was powerful- one of the younger Sages, he relished the cold, and had trained himself physically. And as for his Pokemon...

Aurelius and Tash had said that Gorm was a master of three types- Water, Ice and Flying. But from the Pokemon that emerged from his Pokeballs, the bias towards the Water type was clear; a Cloyster, Walrein, Carracosta, Beartic and a Swanna were the Pokemon who emerged. What was clear though was that these Pokemon were fierce, no matter what type bias Gorm had. And then he released his last Pokemon...

A pink, foggy mist sprayed down from the ceiling, blanketing the floor of the Dreamyard as Gorm's Pokeball revealed a Magikarp, slapping its tail lazily on the floor. "Magi..."

"What the…" Hilda murmured to herself, confused as she peered into the mist.

"Hah! Call that a Pokemon worthy of Team Plasma?" Reece said, striding forward to kick the feebly flopping Magikarp. "My nan could beat that one!"

Looker suddenly focused, the situation clarifying itself in his mind, the pink mist disappearing from his vision as realisation dawned sickeningly. "Reece, it's Dream Mist! It's not a Magikarp!"

"Huh?" Reece turned, confused, and the quick change in position unintentionally saved his life. A shape swirled in the Dream Mist as the Magikarp disappeared, and an enormous Aqua Tail buried itself in the wall where Reece's head would have been if he hadn't rolled, sparing himself by inches.

As Reece rolled backwards across the Dreamyard and hit the wall with a thump, Gorm's Gyarados emerged roaring from the remnants of the Mist. "GYARA!"

"Tisnae gonna be easy, Looker!" Gorm called. "Cut through the Dream Mist tae find what's true and what's nae a lie. Ai know how- ai've hidden here for weeks now. But can ye do it?"

"Oh I can do it," Looker snapped, as a fresh covering of the Mist blew in and surrounded Gorm in a veil of pink fog, darkening a little as it covered the Sage. "And you won't beat us, Gorm!"

Looker stalked angrily to the back of the Police to stand beside Bastian and Tash, as Croagunk led the Police Pokemon on a charge against Gorm's Pokemon. "Anyone got a plan they want to share with me? Any idea how a bunch of exhausted Policemen can beat this Dream Mist and capture a Sage?"

Tash nodded. "We need to eliminate the Dream Mist. Gorm appears to know how to use the Mist to his advantage, whereas we end up attacking each other and making costly mistakes."

"Right!" Bastian said. "We gotta focus here, and think everything through. Work as hard as possible and fight as hard as we can, and never take it for granted what's in front of us."

Looker clapped his hands. "Okay. What's causing this Dream Mist?"

Hilda ducked quickly as a wayward Scald sizzled over her head and impacted against a pillar in a cloud of steam. "It's the Musharna! The one that the experiment used before this place was abandoned. It's hiding somewhere in here and causing chaos."

A plan formed in Looker's head. "I'll go and look for the Musharna, see if I can stop it."

"I'd hate to sound like Cheren, but do you know what a Musharna looks like, Looker?"

"I've been revising my Unovan Pokemon, thank you Hilda, I'm getting there. Bastian, go and block the exit; for all we know, we may be dreaming that Gorm is still here fighting us." As the towering man ran off purposefully Looker squinted into the shadows. "Reece?"

"Here!" the young Officer coughed, appearing at his side and wincing from the pain of his shoulder where he'd hit the wall. "What's the plan, Looker?"

"I need you," Looker said, pulling the staggering Reece fully to his feet and dusting off his uniform, "to come with me. Croagunk seems to be leading the charge, so I need you to back me up- we're going on a Musharna hunt. Tash, Hilda, good luck."

Reece turned to Looker, coughing, as Tash and Hilda disappeared into battle. "Z, Metagross?" His two Pokemon flanked him all of a sudden; it impressed and slightly disturbed Looker how quickly and how silently they could move. "Back us up. If we find Musharna attack on Looker's command, OK?"

As the two Pokemon nodded, Looker looked at Reece properly, registering his state for the first time, and a concerned look appeared on his face. "Reece are you alright? You look hurt... are you sure you want to come with me? Do you just want a little rest?"

"I'm fine!" Reece snapped, pulling himself forward with willpower that would have made Azelf proud. "I'm sure! I want to stop Gorm sir, and that's what matters. I can soldier on!"

Looker shook his head at Reece's determination, amazed by his grit and bravery. "Fine. Come on then."

Looker headed into the thickest part of the fog, where shadows coiled and twisted as the ferocious battle that had erupted between Gorm's Pokemon and the Sages surrounded him. Water dripped from the roof where poorly-aimed attacks had struck, and a large puddle was forming, seeping its way into every crack- Reece stumbled at one point on the wetness, and Looker had to help him back up, bearing the weight of his struggling team member and cursing Reece's stubborn attitude to continue.

A loud, pained roar reverberated through the Dreamyard, and Looker rolled to one side just in the nick of time. Descending through the Mist, Gorm's Gyarados fell slowly, toppling with a heavy might to shake the very ground as it impacted hard; electricity from an Electroweb attack from Hilda's Galvantula, rippled through its body as it was knocked out. Looker had to push Reece to one side as Gyarados' gaping jaws closed instantly when it became unconscious, otherwise Reece would have been crunched by some serious fangs; mentally, Looker made a note that he'd had to save Reece from the Gyarados twice now.

Hilda wasn't having it all her way though, and the next casualty surprised Looker. Reshiram had fallen: as Gorm's Pokemon considered it the Police's main threat, all of them had targeted the Legendary with blasts of water that threatened to put out the blazing fire in its turbine tail. Reshiram may have been part-Dragon, and therefore less weak to the effects of Water, but under pressure from so much water it could rehydrate the Unovan Desert, the Dragon of Truth nearly drowned, and collapsed to the floor elegantly, its white mane billowing gracefully and piling up in a heap behind the Dragon.

"Shit..." Reece said, pausing for breath as he watched Reshiram fall, Hilda scurrying with a panicked look on her face to return her beaten stalwart before Gorm's Pokemon went for the jugular. "Gorm is POWERFUL! None of the other Sages managed that..."

"Are you sure that's not Gorm manipulating the Dream Mist to demoralise us.?"

"No chance. You saw him, he knows this Mist inside out, what's a lie and what's not. He really has knocked out Reshiram." Reece turned to face Looker. "We need to take this son of a bitch out."

"Language accepted and agreed with," Looker nodded. "And we can do it at last! We can stop the Dream Mist! Unless I'm learning the Pokedex wrong, that's a Musharna!"

Looker had managed to get through the thickest fog to the centre of it all, to the cause of the Dream Mist spreading through the Dreamyard. Rolled up into a ball like a foetus, a slightly chubby, pink and purple, pig-like Pokemon snored adorably, its long pink snout rippling as it breathed out. On its forehead, there was something almost like a blowhole on a Wailord, where Dream Mist trickled and poured out in great quantities, pink smoke rising and covering the area in a pink hue. This was the creator of Dream Mist, the inhabitant of the Dreamyard: Musharna.

"How do we get it to wake up?" Reece hissed, before he swallowed a mouthful of dust and coughed, a hacking, loud cough, clearing his throat. The sudden noise awoke the Drowsing Pokemon from its slumber, blinking sleep out of red eyes at the two Policemen.

Looker smiled. "That seemed to do the trick." He started slowly walking forward towards Musharna. "Musharna we need your help..."

BAM! The Mist suddenly coiled and sprung up around Looker and Musharna, as Reece realised it wasn't coming from the Musharna in front of them. "Looker!"

Through the fog a fist sailed once more to punch Looker with the force of a Machop, sending him reeling into a pillar. Sage Gorm chuckled as he stepped forward over the Detective. "Mistake me for something else Looker? Dearie me, this Dream Mist, 'tis a nightmare tae deal with."

"Musha?" From around the corner, where the Dream Mist was really coming from, the real Musharna tottered, blinking its red eyes at the scene in front of it. Then it growled in recognition of humans; it had a real problem with them, ever since they'd tried to experiment on it in the Dreamyard.

"Oh, you shouldnae mind me, Musharna," Gorm said cheerily, picking Looker up by the collar and hitting him again, the fog around him darkening, tainted by negativity. "Just dealing with some intruders for ye."

"Intruders?" Reece yelled. "We're looking for you, old man!"

"Yeah!" came a voice from behind Musharna, and the Drowsing Pokemon span to see Hilda standing behind it, eyes blazing furiously, her starter Serperior at her side. "Remember me, Musharna? Well, this old man is a criminal, and is trespassing here!"

Looker nodded through the pain, noting how the Mist around Musharna was darkening, and grabbed onto Gorm to prevent him escaping. "Musharna, he's been hiding in here without permission for weeks now, and he's committed terrible crimes. He tried to take over Unova!"

"Get off me!" Gorm cried, as his Pokemon started grouping around the struggling Sage and Detective, Musharna's growl growing in volume. "'Tis all a lie, Musharna!"

"Musharna?" Hilda called, and Musharna looked up at her. "Do you know what the worst thing he did was?" Musharna shook its head. "He ordered those Grunts to come here to collect Dream Mist. Remember? The ones who kicked and abused your child Munna? The ones I fought to defeat?"

Looker grinned in admiration; he didn't know whether what she said was true or not, but it had worked, and now Musharna was VERY angry at Gorm. As the Dream Mist billowed, becoming inky and shadowy as the Drowsing Pokemon snapped, he threw Gorm away from him. "It's Nightmare Mist now! Corrupt, evil tainted! Get down!"

Musharna rose, uncurling from its ball to scream in fury at the Sage, fearsomely glaring at him, and Gorm realised what was going to happen. "Oh shite..."

The shadowy fog coiled and whipped up into a frenzy, before a wave of pure negative energy blasted forward, intent on demolishing Gorm and his Pokemon. Turned by the anger at Gorm into something truly terrifying, the Mist slammed into his Pokemon with horrible force, a hellish force beyond any understanding. Gorm's Beartic tried to claw at the attacking fog, but it whipped around the Ice-type, throwing it off its feet and driving it into a concrete wall with bone-cracking force. It wasn't just Beartic who was taken out by the powerful blast of energy- Gorm's Carracosta's shell was obliterated, fragments driving into the flesh of the Prototurtle, making it scream. His Swanna's wings snapped with a horrible noise. And then it stopped...

Somehow unharmed in his position on the floor, Looker stopped shielding his eyes with his forearm to glance up, checking what had stopped the negative energy. He rose slowly, unsteadily, taking in the damage, before watching Gorm kick Musharna across the Dreamyard into a pillar, knocking it out. "Hey!"

"Take that, ye bastard," the Scotsman muttered, kicking Musharna again. "That'll teach ye. We shouldnae have been merciful tae ye the last time we came here..."

"It's over Gorm," Hilda said, approaching slowly as the pink fog completely disappeared, revealing the cold hard light of day streaming in from a hole in the ceiling above. "You've lost."

Gorm grinned. "Oh, have ai? Take a look around ye! Where are yer Pokemon?"

"Oh come on, he's right as well," moaned Tash as she looked around. While Gorm's Pokemon had been caught up in the blast of Nightmare Mist, so had the Police Pokemon. They all lay unconscious on the floor, and now, with their Pokemon down (albeit in a far better condition than Gorm's), there was no way they could force him to go quietly.

Gorm grinned to confirm this, as he drew two Pokeballs from his belt, releasing his Cloyster and Walrein. "Ai returned these fellas earlier, just in case. Now how are ye gonna arrest me? Ai've won, Looker!"

Looker opened his mouth to make a witty retort, while his fingers inched towards the Colt pistol given to him by Reece; he hated gun persuasion, always seeing it as a last resort in his line of duty, but he had to get Gorm. He was interrupted though when a blur dropped from the rafters to land defiantly in front of Cloyster and Walrein. "Croa GUNK!"

"Ha!" Gorm barked, as Croagunk, having survived the Nightmare Mist by hiding in the roof above everything, stared down his Pokemon. "One wee little Croagunk against my best Pokemon. Nice try, Looker! Walrein, annihilate him!"

Before the Walrein could move though Croagunk started to glow in a bright white light, his shape fading from view to become a shadow which started to change in form...

"What?" Gorm cried, confused. "What?"

"Evolution," Reece said, grinning. "We might have a chance now. Go Croagunk!"

Looker shook his head as the shape started to grow in size, the arms lengthening, the head of his partner in crime (investigation) morphing slowly. This wasn't right...

Ever since Team Galactic, ever since taking on Commander Saturn and his Toxicroak, ever since being beaten the first time, Croagunk had developed a hatred of his evolutionary superiors, considering them all evil, conniving bastards. He'd finally beaten Toxicroak, ending the vendetta, but his hatred still burned, and he always insisted that Looker carried an Everstone around for him. Why would he sacrifice his form to help Looker beat one Sage? He wouldn't do that in a million years... "Croagunk... no..."

The shape glowed brighter, the intensity of the evolutionary light growing, a miniature sun in the gloom of the Dreamyard, as it flashed one more time, the form of the Toxicroak inside starting to solidify...

A fist slammed down on the floor, and the shape managed to shrink in the blink of an eye back to the original form, the light glowing around it. "CROA... GUNKKKKK!"

Croagunk had managed to stop his own evolution at the last possible moment, reverting back to his favoured form, but now the raw evolutionary energy, left over and with no outlet to pour itself into, was set loose. With a colossal boom, it shot forward away from Croagunk, rippling, white light surging forward, boiling through the air towards Gorm's Pokemon. Croagunk had improvised the most powerful attack he could use- evolution- and now Gorm's Pokemon would feel the full force of the energy...

Looker closed his eyes as light danced across his eyelids from the explosion that followed, somehow burning his eyes despite them being closed. With a ringing in his ears, the light subsided, the shadowy gloom of the Dreamyard returning, and Looker opened his eyes at last. "What the hell..."

Croagunk, sizzling slightly, turned to face his master, and saluted properly for the first time in several years, before toppling over backwards, knocked out from the sheer recoil of the attack he'd just launched. Gorm's Pokemon faired worse though- the attack had burned black marks into the concrete behind them, and Gorm's Walrein's skin had been seared, crisped to a black by the ferocious energy wave, the pain overwhelming the Pokemon and knocking it out instantly. His Cloyster's normally impenetrable shell had been burned through, a beam of energy piercing through, lancing through, skewering the creature's body inside with light; it was breathing, but very heavily, and in no condition to fight.

Gorm rose, hacking and coughing, from the floor he'd thrown himself onto, his moustache and hair singed, loose ends sticking out underneath the skeleton of his hat. He dusted some soot off his shoulders and beat out a few small fires in his suit. "Hoots mon that was terrifying..."

Looker hauled the Sage up to his feet, pressing the Colt to his face, grinning triumphantly at finally beating the Sage. "Tash, Hilda, someone, please go and pick Croagunk up. Be careful, he might be a bit hot."

Gorm groaned, trying to wipe away some of the soot that had blackened his pale skin. "I lost... How did... I lost..."

"No," Looker said, "I won, and you're under arrest." He pressed the barrel of the Colt harder into the Sage's stomach, making him gasp. "Now are you going to come quietly?"

 **A/N: And there we have it. Croagunk's evolution attack sparked from a little thought process of mine that wondered what happened to all the energy when a Trainer cancels their Pokemon's evolution. But yeah, I hope you enjoyed the battle! And I hope it didn't come too soon for y'all- given that it doesn't take that long in game to round up all the Sages, and given that I want to write as dynamic a fic as possible, this pace is better for me!**

 **Next chapter- I wonder what Gorm has to say? And I wonder who has a dirty little secret? All will be revealed…**

 **As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read- it always makes me so happy. Any reviews are always appreciated (just don't flame) and favourites/follows make my day, yo.**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	11. The Paperweight

**A/N: Hello folks, ya boy has returned. Fresh from hitting double figures, we're back with another chapter (although I apologise for the delay in uploading due to revision).**

 **Last chapter featured the climax of the epic battle with Sage Gorm, and marked the occasion of the capture of Looker's third Sage. However, now they have to get Gorm to talk- I don't know about you, but I'm sure that won't be so easy, will it?**

Morning of a cool day brought a still sky to Castelia City for the first time in a week, a beautiful, tranquil sea of light blue above the metropolis. The last remnants of the stunning storm that had ravaged Unova, the storm that had emptied the heavens onto the region, had gone. It had been an almighty deluge that flooded ground and turned the grassy routes into swamps- the Moor of Icirrus had become an inland sea, and the Desert Resort had received its first rain in over a hundred years, the oases finally wet again as plants finally started to flourish on their banks.

Looker, freshly rested after the events of the previous day, sat with a mug of his special coffee in one hand, watching out into the drenched city from the downstairs section of Police HQ. At eye level with the roads, he could see how much the storm had done. Castelia Sewers, normally unnoticed, were flooding into the streets. Looker spotted a volunteer street cleaner, a Janitor from the Game Freak building in the city who was busy trying to use a broom to sweep away the puddles, pushing a wall of water akin to a tsunami back down the drains.

"Well, the sports fans aren't going to be very happy," Reece remarked, watching out of the window.

Croagunk turned on Looker's shoulder, looking a little confused. "Croa?"

Reece waved a hand. "All that water out there will have flooded the pitch in Big Stadium, up in Nimbasa. It's the big game today, Nimbasa versus Castelia, and they were expecting big crowds- they won't be able to play in a swamp." He paused. "I had a big bet on Castelia too..."

"Football?" Looker asked. "If it's football, I've become attached to the Sunyshore Lights after my time in Sinnoh."

Reece tutted. "It's not football! Come on, you're in Unova, it's definitely soccer! And you don't even support a decent team…" He was grinning at that bit though. "And it's neither- in Unova, it's Baccer. You know, teams of Pokemon battling against each other to hit a spinning-top ball into a pyramid goal?"

"I know what Baccer is," Looker said patiently. "It's basically 'soccer' anyway. And anyway, shouldn't you be working?

"Shouldn't you?" Reece joked back.

"I am," Looker said, smiling briefly. "I'm waiting."

The Police were finally relaxing, ever just a little bit. After defeating Sage Gorm the day before, they had managed to tie up a few loose ends with the investigation into Team Plasma. While Bastian interviewed Gorm that night, Looker had checked through records, sorted evidence, got Reece's Porygon-Z working on computers looking for more leads to more Sages, and got most Police Pokemon healed at the Pokemon Centre.

He HAD intended to get a search warrant for a warehouse belonging to Gorm's weapons company to see if he was stockpiling weapons for Plasma, but he wasn't able to find this warehouse. In any case, Aurelius had told him it was not worth the hassle, that Gorm's company's lawyers would be hard to break, and that he should focus on the main investigation. Which he was doing...

The door to the interview room slid open a crack, and Bastian popped his head around it. "He's in here now. And ready for you."

Looker nodded, rising, beckoning to Reece as he walked in, nodding to Tash, who was sat in the corner of the room, and then turning to face the other occupant. "Good morning, Sage Gorm. No, please, don't stand."

The Scotsman, who'd made no attempt to rise at all while sat at the table in handcuffs, glowered at Looker. "That bastard Bastian didnae let me sleep! Ai've never been treated like that before- just endless questions!"

"That bastard is my custody officer," Looker said coolly. "His job is to ASK questions, and get answers. And I have a few of my own. Starting with this."

On Looker's nod, Croagunk hopped off his shoulder and placed down a single Pokeball on the table, in front of Gorm's handcuffed hands. "Gunk!"

"Ai was wondering where ye'd put that," Gorm muttered.

"Yes, the locked Pokeball," Looker mused, as if ignoring Gorm. "Submitted into evidence along with the rest of your Pokemon, well, those in one piece still. Plus, may I add, a rather large stun grenade, a pistol with a barrel so big I'm not sure it doesn't actually count as light artillery, and your other personal effects." He prodded the locked Pokeball. "This interests me though. Zinzolin and Ryoku had one like this. What is the meaning of it? What's in it?"

"None of yer business," Gorm said smugly. "And ai've heard of yer wee Croagunk's intimidation tactic. Ai'm not telling ye, even if he bangs the table."

Croagunk, fist raised, lowered it slowly, glaring at Gorm.

Tash tutted, flicking her hair, and tossed the locked Pokeball to Reece, who dropped it with a clang. "Reece, once you've picked that up, return that with the others in evidence, will you? Gorm, anything else you want to say? You've been more cooperative than the other Sages with describing your past..."

"Aye. Ye know then that ai was considering whether to abandon Ghetsis? Ai was still on the fence as to whether to trust Ghetsis or N, ye know?"

"And now?"

"Ai've been hiding out from ye for a while," Gorm chuckled. "Ai think ye know who's side ai'm on."

"On the subject of hiding…" came a voice from the door. The Police all turned to see Hilda framed in the doorway, casually juggling a Pokeball. "Where are your other Sages hiding?"

Gorm shrugged. "Ai wouldnae tell ye if I knew. Ai think ai can roughly guess, but yer still not getting that."

"You Sages really are very unhelpful," Tash sighed. "We caught you, you could at least admit defeat and cooperate."

"Ah, but they aren't defeated, are they?" Looker smiled. "Because they have the Plan, and are apparently ready to commence 'Stage 2'."

Gorm looked very surprised. "Ye know about the Plan?"

Bingo, thought Looker. Now was his chance... "Yes, we know. We caught Zinzolin out talking about it."

"He never was good at keeping secrets," Gorm said, shaking his head.

"Come clean Gorm," Tash urged. "We know everything about it, what you plan to do. You can't hide anything from us." There was silence in the room...

Then Gorm grinned an almighty grin, and started laughing. "Ah, ye lot make me laugh."

"What?" Tash asked, but her carefully painted mask of innocence was failing- her eyes reflected her worry as Looker looked across at her. "What's so funny Gorm?"

Gorm wiped away a tear, still grinning. "Oh ai love it! Zinzolin isnae a fool- he may give away that we have a Plan, but he wouldnae discuss any details of it with anyone, considering all of us Sages know the Plan, and that's what's important."

"He was talking with Ryoku about it," Hilda said desperately.

"Hoots mon, do ye think two of us would idly chat about a masterplan when enemies could be in earshot, when we know what it is? Ai didnae think so too!"

Looker sighed as Reece returned. "Put him back in the cells. Nice try Tash." He turned to Gorm. "Oh, and when you're there, could you ask Ghetsis whether he thinks three Sages in three days is a decent statistic."

Gorm allowed himself to be pulled up, his smirk still wide as Reece led him towards the exit. "Ai'm sure he'll like it. Ye funny man... Ai never even thought for one second that ye knew anything about our wee little Plan. Ye didnae fool me."

"Oh really?" Looker asked, curious.

"Yes! For two reasons. One, if ye knew what we were planning, ye wouldnae have wasted yer time and Bastian's night with that incessant questioning, even when my answers didnae change." Gorm's grin suddenly grew wider. "And two, if ye knew what we were planning, ye wouldnae be hanging around us anymore, or keeping us close. Good day, Looker."

As Gorm was hauled out of the room laughing, Hilda shivered. "What is it with Team Plasma leaders? All of them are creepy old men with creepy old plans..."

Looker sighed, exasperated, but he was also hiding a worry of what Gorm's ominous warning meant. "We never get anything of interest out of these interviews. We try all night long questioning, and it still doesn't work."

"I ain't one to give up, Looker," Bastian said, interrupting. "I reckon they're close to cracking."

"I reckoned that too," Tash said, as Bastian wordlessly sloped off towards the stairs. "And then Gorm happened. I guess I should probably leave the interviews to Looker for a while."

"Croa," Croagunk nodded, not helping her mood. He hopped off Looker's shoulder suddenly and out of Looker's jacket he pulled out two tickets, one of them clearly marked out with the name 'Reece Davis'. "Gunk gunk!"

Looker worked it out quickly, and shook his head "Ha! Nice try, but you and Reece aren't going to the Baccer, even if he has made a bet."

"Croa..."

"Look, it'll probably be cancelled anyway, because of the pitch. And you have work to do anyway." Croagunk fumed, and stomped off to stand by Reece. "Right, all of you, get to work! I'm sure you've got something to do!"

Hilda raised a hand. "Looker, I might have a meeting to attend with someone who may be interested in briefly helping our cause. May I go?"

"Of course." Looker grinned. "Take Croagunk. He needs the fresh air. And what about you Tash?"

"I've got some paperwork to do, stuff to tidy up," she replied. "Bastian's busy negotiating with some lawyers for Gorm's company..."

"Does that man never sleep?" Looker asked, stunned. Even he felt tired on this investigation, even with his energising Victreebel-sap-laced coffee, even with a good night's sleep the night before; how Bastian was coping was beyond him. "He was up all night questioning!"

Tash simply nodded. "It's how he copes with it. So, he's doing that, and Reece will be helping Z with data capture..." She paused. "Want to come with me? Sort some paperwork out? Grab a coffee or something in Cafe Sonata?"

Looker smiled. "You're on." He nodded to Sergeant Forsyth on the front desk, who pulled out Looker's suitcase of disguises from under the desk and handed it to Looker. "I have some of the interview transcripts from before I arrived in here. Aurelius left them for me to look at, so if you're willing to help we can have a look through and see what we can find. We'll be back later, Forsyth."

With that Looker and Tash strode out of the door, heading against the flow of Castelia citizens caught in rush hour towards Cafe Sonata. Paperwork was the least exciting prospect of Police work, far less glamorous than high-speed pursuits and scuffles with Sages, but it needed to be done, and if Looker was going to do it, he was going to get some sense from chaos. And he was going to at least have some food while he did it...

 **(***)**

Unfortunately though for Looker the pile of papers yielded nothing. Through all those interviews, written down in Bastian's scrawl (which proved the most difficult puzzle of the day), Looker had found absolutely nothing in the written transcripts, and it absolutely infuriated him. He felt that he'd been on the top of his game during the Galactic case, and that if he was on that level now he would no doubt have found something in Ghetsis' words that alluded to the Sages' Plan, some little tiny clue that would otherwise pass as an insignificant bit of conversation. It would have been helpful to have audio or video recordings of each interview, to listen for catches in voices, little hints of emotions, but Aurelius had already told him that there was no recorder in that room. Looker had to go on what Bastian had written down, and that alone, and it wasn't working.

"Never mind Looker," Tash said, patting him on the back as they returned to Police HQ, coffee cups in hand, a box of donuts safely tucked under her arm for the team (Looker discovered very early on that his team, much like any other Police team, couldn't resist them). Tash had distracted him a little while he searched, as he learned a little more about her past growing up in Mistaltron City and her reasons behind joining the police, but she'd also helped try to search, and she could see why Looker was frustrated. "We'll find something soon."

Looker sighed. "I hope so. Bastian could at least have written down any suspicious tones of voice he heard, so I had something to go on."

"He probably did. We just can't read his writing."

Looker smiled. "Anyone who can read that deserves to replace Aurelius as Commissioner."

Their laughter was cut short as a figure appeared, running through the automatic doors and coming to a panting stop in front of them. "Looker," it wheezed. "Looker..."

"Sergeant Forsyth?" Tash asked, recognising the croaky, rasping voice. "Are you okay?"

"What's happened Forsyth?" Looker asked, with a little more intuition and tact.

Forsyth gulped, swallowing heavily. "The Commissioner... Come quick... Follow me!"

Looker nodded to Tash, a fleeting look of concern passing over her face, as they followed the hurrying desk sergeant inside. Forsyth normally walked with the aid of a cane, but today appeared to be running unaided with a swaying gait that looked only a touch brittle, and despite his appearance he was deceptively quick. Rather than climb the long flights of stairs, Forsyth made them wait for the notoriously slow elevator (to save his hip, he said) and when in a hurry, the light jingle of elevator music was not helpful. Looker was worrying...

The doors pinged open, sliding back smoothly, but Looker barged in through them as they were semi-open, making them rattle as he took in the scene. "Alright, what's going on here?"

Everybody on the team was up in the Commissioner's office, grouped around the desk where Aurelius worked; even Hilda had returned, although she looked confused. They'd came back along with Croagunk, whose fist was slammed into the desk in typical intimidating fashion. Aurelius, remaining sat down, had backed his chair against the window which he normally watched the city from, and the slightest look of fear flitted across the fat man's otherwise seething face. Bastian looked furious, and Reece was angry; something wasn't right."

"Hi Looker," Bastian said, turning to look at the arrived Detective. "Tash too... Good! You can look at this then!"

"This?" Tash asked, confused. "What's going on?"

Forsyth hobbled to the desk, his pained walk returning. He picked up something from the desk and threw it suddenly through the air to Looker, who caught it, surprised at the weight behind Forsyth's throw. "Somebody's been hiding a secret from all of us."

Looker turned over the object in his hand. It was quite clear it was a glass paperweight, a flat dome shape, and through the clear glass on the base of the dome a picture was visible; a black and white shield with a blue 'P' on it. Turning it over, Looker read a thin image, engraved very lightly on the bottom: 'For your services to the cause of harmony, Thomas Aurelius'.

Finally he looked up. "Explain."

"This is preposterous!" Aurelius exploded suddenly, rising up out of his chair like a Wailord beaching itself. Looker actively took a step back in shock at the sudden anger; he'd not seen this from the Commissioner yet. "Completely insane, an outrage! That is not mine, and I have never seen it before, and I have never been treated like this by an Officer!"

Reece held up a hand. "Looker, when Bastian finished in his meeting with the lawyers of Gorm's company, he went to the evidence locker to meet me, to sort things out from earlier. However, we were missing the locked Pokeball Zinzolin came in with. Then I remembered the Commissioner showing it to us in his office."

"So I went up to get it," Bastian said. "And, well, look what I found in the desk drawer with it."

"And where were you, sir?" Tash asked the Commissioner politely.

"Castelia's Pokemon Centre. Room 12A, to be precise. My mother is in for an operation on her liver, so I was out visiting all morning. And you can check that with the hospital too, if you don't believe me."

"So the office was empty," Looker said, ignoring Aurelius. "And you came in here to Looker, Bastian."

"Hell yeah. That desk has a lotta drawers, so I checked a lot of 'em, and eventually found it amongst all the other paperwork and shit. And then I found this."

"Evidence of his allegiance with Team Plasma," Reece finished, almost snarling at the Commissioner, who glared back.

"Ridiculous," Aurelius replied aggressively. "If I did indeed possess such incriminating evidence, it would not rest in a desk drawer in plain sight of anyone who opened the drawer, while we investigated Team Plasma!"

"I think we need to check the other drawers then, see what else he has in the way of incriminating evidence," Forsyth wheezed, edging forward, Croagunk puffing up his cheek sacs to intimidate Aurelius further.

Hilda pulled him back gently. "No, not yet. I think we should let Looker decide what to do. Looker?"

Looker nodded, silent for a few seconds. Then he spoke quietly. "Let him go."

The room erupted. "Croa GUNK CROA?!" Croagunk yelled angrily, a mixture of anger and confusion on his face, and Bastian looked furious too. The Commissioner looked relieved.

Tash nudged Looker in the ribs. "Looker? What is it? What have you spotted?" Wordlessly, Looker held up the Plasma paperweight to her eye level. "Yeah? And?" Then it hit her. "Oh..."

"Yes," Looker nodded. "Hilda, look at it. Now do you see?"

Craning her necks, the teen got it in a flash. "Ah-ha! Okay!"

"Wait, Looker, tell us, what is it?" Reece asked.

Looker smiled humourlessly. "When looked at, the Team Plasma crest goes from left to right, white to black on the shield. This crest goes from left to right, black to white." He paused. "Don't you see? It's very well made, but it's a fake."

"Ohh..." came the echo around the room, and Forsyth and Bastian looked very small all of a sudden.

Looker nodded. "Sorry, sir, about my team's reaction. They had every right to get wound up, and I actually don't blame them, but this is a fraud. Somebody who has access to your office placed this paperweight, planted it on your desk to make us suspicious of you, to make you appear a villain, perhaps to make you leave. But they failed, with a shoddy job." He turned to face everyone. "Bad news then. There is a traitor in the Police."

This had the typical Police reaction, the reaction Looker expected- the surprised and shocked gasp filled the room, and was followed by the typical round of pointing, where everyone's hands whipped up and pointed accusingly at someone else in the room, so that nobody was left unaccused. The fact that even Looker and Hilda had been pointed at made Looker shake his head in disbelief.

"A traitor... My God, that's horrible," Hilda said, trying to meet Looker's gaze and failing as he stared out of the window. "Who could it be?"

"Well, I trust all of you. I don't think it's any of us, more likely another staff member," Looker announced to the room. This, however, was a lie. Since announcing it was a fake, Looker had narrowed it down to three suspects, reading for tell-tale signs and using what he already knew. He was adamant that somebody in the room had betrayed them for Team Plasma.

Aurelius stood up, shaking his head. "This calls for more action. I'll recall some of the staff from Sinnoh, get them off their search for N and get them back home. It'll be difficult- the detective in charge of that investigation doesn't want to lose any men- but we need the men. They can investigate into this."

Looker nodded. "Right, Croagunk?"

"Croa?"

"Until the Sinnoh team arrive, I want my best partner on this. I want you to go and get fingerprint checks run on that paperweight, and I want that desk swabbed for any DNA evidence, hairs, skin cells, et cetera." Despite the fact this might confuse some of the team as to why a Pokemon was doing their work for them, Looker knew they understood he'd put his partner on the case to not risk any sabotage. He turned to them all." Keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour in the ranks; anything that draws your attention, anything the least bit weird, report it to me. But DO NOT let this become your main focus. There are still three Sages out there on the loose, including the most powerful battler, the most powerful businessman and the most powerful in the hierarchy. They are very worthy opponents. And we need to catch them as soon as possible."

He clapped his hands, but there was no humour behind the smile on his face. "Well, what are we all standing around for? Let's get back to work!"

With some murmurings between people, the Police trickled out of the Commissioner's office slowly, the slow-as-hell lift making them wait uncomfortably and awkwardly in the office before they could get back to work. Looker smiled though when he saw Bastian and Reece go up to Aurelius and shake hands with him sheepishly by way of apology; he was glad that Aurelius had forgiven them for being reckless.

When the lift doors finally closed and Looker was left alone in the office with Aurelius, he strode up behind the Commissioner's chair, standing behind Aurelius' back as he looked out over the city. "I'm sorry about them, sir."

Aurelius waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine Looker. I'd be angry like that if it was your desk we found the paperweight in. I'm glad your level head didn't fail you, though."

Looker nodded. "Even so, it was unacceptable. Their actions were reckless." He sighed. "And now, not only do we have to catch the three most powerful Sages, we have to find the traitor in our ranks too, and prevent them from causing undue harm."

"Do not worry about it Looker. When the officers return from Sinnoh, I'll get them investigating into it, and personally lead the hunt myself. You stick to what you do best: bringing in the Sages." Aurelius paused. "I take it you have an inkling as to who the traitor might be?"

"I have three suspects in mind," Looker confirmed, not directly naming them. "You're right though sir. I'll leave it up to Croagunk for now, and then whoever comes from Sinnoh."

Aurelius smiled. "Okay then. I think your team are waiting for you downstairs in your team meeting room- I think they'll need some advice. I won't take any more of your time up now, not when you can be chasing down Sages and securing justice in Unova. You're free to go..." He looked up. "Unless there's anything else I can assist you with, of course..."

Looker thought for a moment, then nodded. "There is one thing I want to ask, sir."

"Certainly!"

Looker strode over to his case of wonders, opened it up and placed the box of donuts down on Aurelius' desk, noticing the Commissioner's face light up with glee; Looker knew there was nothing like food to act as an olive branch. "Care for a donut, sir? I recommend the ones with the chocolate glazing, they are divine..."

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And right about now I have a donut craving. God, I really shouldn't write about food.**

 **Next chapter- some familiar faces make an appearance…**

 **Thanks for reading this, I hope you enjoyed, and I can only apologise for the current delay in uploads; exam season is not ideal. If you're kind enough to review I'll be grateful (for anything that isn't a flame), and if you really want to push the boat out and favourite/follow me or The Chase, your boy will always appreciate it!**

 **For now, ya boy, out.**


	12. Umbra

**A/N: Guess who's back, back again? Of course, it's ya boy. Chapter 12 is here!**

 **Plenty of theories flying around as to who the traitor is in the Police department, I am impressed. A few PMs on the subject as well as reviews, and trust me, it's been hard to keep it fully under wraps. You'll see soon enough…**

 **Now, some familiar faces are due to arrive I believe, following on from last chapter's shocking revelations that there's a traitor in the midst of our beloved team. But who do I mean? Let's find out, shall we?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

The sun rose, slowly, over Castelia City, heralding the start of a brand new day, but today was different to other days. There was a reddish tint to the sunrise, and beams of the dawn light stained the few clouds in the sky a blood-red as it seeped through. It was calm and quiet, barely a ripple on the surface of the water in the harbour, and there was almost an eerie stillness to the place. No wind blew, no rain poured, no stifling heat or bitter cold blasted through the streets; there was just the beautiful light, waves of it piling up against the skyscrapers slowly, crashing down eventually on the other side like a creeping avalanche, filling almost every corner, vanquishing the darkness, the shadows. The metal and glass hive of human activity that was Castelia shone and gleamed, as it woke up to another wonderful morning.

The people in the city had become like the very rays of light that had awoken them; slow. Castelia was renowned for its frenetic atmosphere, its rush hour chaos, and had the reputation of being 'The City that Never Slept', yet this morning there wasn't traffic havoc on the streets. This morning the wide avenues were practically deserted, most of the city remaining asleep, the people who did venture out into the metropolis shuffling, bleary-eyed, to their work. It was just one of those days- a lazy day.

Looker appreciated the peace as he walked to the Police HQ to start work, Croagunk in tow, his suitcase of kit rattling along behind him. On the way home the night before he'd nearly lost the case in the crush of bodies, and the last thing he needed on his way to work, was the worry of being caught in the seething maelstrom of humans and Pokemon. Commissioner Aurelius enjoyed people watching from his office, and said rush hour looked like watching a swarm of Durant below his feet- Looker (after looking up what a Durant was) agreed with the analogy, in that a Durant swarm was usually very vicious, and so was the mob of commuters.

He reached the automatic doors of the HQ and slipped through, nodding to Forsyth; Castelia was so quiet that Looker heard the faint hiss as the doors glided open for the first time. Climbing the stairs, avoiding taking the drearily slow lift, he thought about Aurelius, and reflected on the day before. While he had appreciated not having a day of running around after a Sage, it really was worrying that there was a rat in the Police. The fact that a traitor had placed fake Team Plasma memorabilia in Aurelius' office to attempt to turn the Police against him, and make Looker suspicious, concerned him. Today, it was time for him to act on his suspicions.

"Hmm..." he murmured to himself, then he turned his head to his partner, well rested after expending his evolution energy against Gorm. "Croagunk, do you think you know who placed the paperweight? See anything on anyone's faces when we were in there that gave it away?"

Croagunk paused in thought, a long blue forearm resting against his face, his cheek sacs slowly deflating. "Croa..."

Looker nodded. Croagunk was expert at reading people, and would have noticed the tiniest flicker of worry much as Looker would have. Even those who tried to mask emotions could be spotted by Croagunk, and combined with the fact Looker's remarkably intelligent partner had been working all day on swab tests and fingerprint checks, Croagunk was Looker's safest bet for finding out who the rat could be. Yet it appeared he had failed...

But then Croagunk stirred again. "Gunk gunk!"

"Really? You did?"

Croagunk held up three digits, and Looker sighed. His partner had narrowed it down to the same people as him then.

"I guess it's best to leave it to the officer arriving today then," he said to Croagunk. "We can concentrate on the Sages, and keep an ear out for any developments they may have."

"Gunk." Croagunk nodded firmly, before they entered the meeting room to be greeted by the sight of the entire team, assembled ready and fit for duty before him. After what Hilda had called 'Paperweightgate' the day before (Looker groaned at the time, and now it had stuck), Looker had had a long talk with them all, to warn those who'd been too anti-Aurelius and to ensure they knew the plan of action on the Sages situation. It was good to see they'd all listened, at least.

"Good morning all," Looker said to the room, sliding into a swivel chair while taking a donut from a plate in the middle of the meeting table, a remnant of yesterday's box. "Good to see you've all taken my advice on board. Now, what did we learn yesterday? About the Sages? Reece, brief me..."

Reece nodded in reply, a little less chipper than usual after his dressing-down yesterday. "Well, after three arrests in three days, it seems the success is running out. The trail on Giallo that I had assembled has gone cold, and Bronius also appears not to be visible. Rood though is proving the trickiest- he looks so much like any other normal old man, it's difficult to define which old man the system spots is actually him. For example, yesterday evening at exactly the same time 'Rood' was spotted at Twist Mountain, the Skyarrow Bridge, Anville Town, Gear Station in Nimbasa, and Victory Road."

"Even then, those sightings ain't perfect matches to him," Bastian added. "At best, facial recognition shows a seventy percent match."

"This is what you get when you look like everyone else," Reece said, typing on the laptop in front of him. "Nobody can find you, see you, trace you or detect you. It's like he's become a ghost..."

"A ghost who knows we can't find him because of his lack of individuality," Tash said.

"He's going to be tricky," Looker announced. "He's trying to play with us, to make us scramble, to get us to make mistakes. Don't rise to it. Go after the other two, Bronius and Giallo, and let Rood make mistakes, let him expose himself."

"We thought that," Tash agreed. "And then Hilda came up with a great plan to track down Bronius."

"Oh really?" Looker asked, and Hilda nodded, smiling. "I'm all ears..."

She cleared her throat gently. "Well, you know how Bronius runs a huge business empire? Like, digger companies, mining equipment, mining contracts?"

"Yes?"

"Well, Reece let me have a look on his computer at the company website for any news, and he's just bought out a minority shareholder. He's not running away from his work, he's remained in charge even despite Team Plasma, despite being on the run. His company are expanding, and he's behind it."

"I see. So your plan is…?"

"So why don't we call up his company, pretending to be buyers interested in a lot of stock? Ask the company to forward us to Bronius, saying we'll only deal with him, and then when he answers, we can trace his phone signal."

Looker smiled in approval. "Excellent plan! Nice work Hilda!" As Hilda grinned, Looker nodded to himself, and turned to face everyone. "Well then, it's time to place a phone call! Let's get wired up and ready..."

"Hang on a minute, Looker!" Reece called.

Looker turned. "Yes Reece?"

The youngster simply nodded his head in the direction of the room's door. "I think the Commissioner wants to have a word with us..."

Sure enough, with a loud creak as the floor bent to support his weight, Aurelius tramped his way through the door into the room, nodding at the team, Sergeant Forsyth hobbling along in tow. Looker noticed with little surprise that the Commissioner (like Forsyth) needed a walking stick to support his girth as he moved, and noted with even less surprise how Bastian wrenched a grin onto his face while saluting, how Reece's smile became nervous and tautened. There was obviously still tension after Paperweightgate (he really needed to come up with a new name for it).

Aurelius' small eyes darted from face to face. "Morning all. Plan sorted for today then, I hear?"

"Good morning sir," Looker said politely. "Not like you to come down to our morning meeting..."

"Well, I heard there were donuts left over," the Commissioner answered, taking the last one. "And, I suppose on a more serious note, I wish to talk to you all about some new faces."

Tash arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? The detective from Sinnoh arrived then?"

"I've been here for the past week," Looker joked, to a ripple of laughter. "In all seriousness though, you brought another detective in?"

Aurelius' face didn't twitch at the joke, but he nodded. "Yes, he's here. He's not here to take over from you, Looker, but he's here to help. And I think he wants to meet you all. Detective Stamp?"

From around the corner, a man stuck his head in through the doorway of the team's office, before coming through to stand by Looker's chair. He was quite slim, with delicate-looking hands, and tall, not far off Bastian's height. Dressed to impress, his black suit was somehow shiny, and set off his pale skin and piercing green eyes; if it wasn't for the broad smile he wore, he reminded Looker of a 'Man in Black', secret agent type.

"I'm Danny Stamp," he said to Looker with an even wider smile offering his hand in what turned out to be a firm handshake. "It's good to know you're my new boss. It'll be an honour, sir. I've heard all about the legendary Looker and his exploits."

"Most of them aren't true," Looker replied modestly, returning the smile. "And don't call me sir- Looker will do just fine, Danny."

"Aye aye captain," Danny said, mock saluting. "And this is the Croagunk I've heard so much about then..." Croagunk nodded to him, and offered him a cigarette, which Danny laughed at. "No thanks, I don't smoke."

"Sorry about that," Looker apologised, snatching a lighter from Croagunk's hands as he prepared to light up. "He won't quit, and it's his way of welcoming people to the team."

"No problem! Glad I'm welcome!" Danny turned to look at everyone, as Croagunk folded his arms in a huff. "So, brief introduction aside, I'll be working downstairs in the computer bank on the internal... issue-"

"Paperweightgate," Hilda interrupted. "Come on, use the name."

"Feel free not to indulge her," Aurelius said, rolling his eyes.

Danny coughed. "... Right, and I'll report to you, Looker, daily on my findings. Give me a call if you need me for anything, and if any of you want to have a proper talk and introduction, you all know where I am!"

"Will do," Looker nodded, as Danny left, quickly. He turned to the Commissioner. "Is he good?"

"Your boss, LaDieux, recommended him," Aurelius replied. "He was second in command in the search for N Harmonia, and wanted to change regions to search, but his superior was adamant that N was in Sinnoh. He got fed up, and came back to work on this the second I asked for a detective- I think he missed home."

"He's a natural Detective," Forsyth added mid-wheeze. "His association skills and powers of deduction are impressive indeed."

Reece nodded. "Good to have another talented Detective helping us out. So, if we get into trouble with a Sage, will he help?"

Aurelius' pudgy face creased up in thought. "Possibly. Only if his work really isn't going anywhere- you might not see him for a lot of the time. However, thanks to the efforts of Hilda, we do have someone who wants to help out in battle situations..."

Hilda grinned. "You mean, he's fully agreed now?"

"Yes," came a deep, sonorous voice from behind Aurelius. "I've decided to help."

Looker definitely recognised this newcomer. Built like Bastian, with large muscles stretched across his tall body, his powerful frame was clad in a strange poncho above torn white trousers. His face was tanned, weathered and deep set, with a few slight wrinkles and with twinkling purple eyes that looked at you with such genuine interest. They had seen practically everything, and from the looks of it, they had seen two different hairstyles the man liked- his red/orange hair blazed like Castelia's morning sun in a spiky pattern at the front, with a long ponytail hanging down his back in the most distinctive haircut in the Pokemon world...

Alder, Champion of Unova, smiled benevolently at the awestruck Policemen before him. Sure, he'd left his duties to go wandering the region, and sure, N had beaten him, but he'd helped defeat Team Plasma, and in the end, nobody in Unova could say they didn't like him. He was a legend, a man whose name was so famous even Looker (whose experience of Unova was rather limited) recognised him immediately. "I heard you needed a hand..."

Tash looked stunned. "Oh my..."

Looker was actually struggling with what to say, recognising one of the most powerful and famous men in the world before him. "Champion Alder..." Then he paused. "Shouldn't you be working in the Pokemon League?"

Alder laughed, heartily, genuinely. "Ha! All the things you could have said, and you asked why I'm wandering the region, not working. Classic!"

Looker smiled. "Well, you know, Champion's duties, and all that?"

"Really? I'm not sitting up in that place all day while everyone else has fun, my friend! Not when I can put my battle talent to good use against Team Plasma..."

"Bet you I can knock out ten times as many Pokemon as you, old man!" Hilda challenged.

"Old?" Alder looked jokingly indignant. "How dare you! I'm only in my fourties! And bring it on! My Pokemon are stronger than yours, young lady!"

Hilda laughed. "It's good to see you again, Alder. It's been too long..."

"I agree," the Champion nodded, patting her on the shoulder. "Great to see you here, helping out against Plasma! And I must say, it's a treat to see the illustrious Detective Looker and his trustworthy Croagunk. I've heard so much from a mutual friend of ours."

"Well," Aurelius butted in, before he had to listen to Looker being modest again, "Looker did have a little bit of help against Galactic. And your Detective superiors sent some of it over..."

"What do you..." Looker started to ask, before Forsyth plonked a large cardboard box down on the table in front of him, blowing some dust off. "No! You didn't!"

"I did," Aurelius nodded, as Looker tore apart the box like a Christmas present, almost speechless for a moment.

"What is it?" Tash asked, craning her neck, as Croagunk started grinning.

"The greatest toy-box you will ever see," Looker replied, laughing to himself. "The finest gadgets the International Police have ever made!"

Looker worked for the Detective branch of the International Police, but in that branch there was a separate division, dedicated to producing things to aid the Detectives on missions. Team Q produced gadgets to rival the spy films of old, and had provided Looker with a multitude of toys to take on Galactic; although he had had varying levels of success with some of them, they had in the end been very useful, and this box contained the lot.

"Wow..." Reece breathed, taking bits and pieces out. "Commissioner, why don't we get anything like this?"

"Because," Looker answered, taking the smoke-bomb-disguised-as-a-snowglobe out of Reece's hands before he set it off, "I know how clumsy you can be WITHOUT it."

"Even so," Tash said, longingly gazing at a miniature Starly drone, "I'd love to have some of this on normal missions."

"Well, we do," Looker said, loading his jacket pockets. "I'm using it against the Sages. Drone controller," he threw the device to Tash, who caught it gleefully, "check, smoke bombs, check, spy pen, check, grappling hooks, check, rocket launcher-"

"Rocket launcher?" Alder asked, concerned.

"-check, mines, check, panpipe gun, check, jet pack..." He put on an innocuous-looking backpack. "Check! Everything else, check! Got everything!"

"Very nice," the Commissioner said, clapping sardonically. "Now actually get on with some work. Carry on."

Looker saluted. "Yes sir! Thank you for all this!" As the Commissioner and Forsyth walked off, Looker turned and beamed at the team. He was having a happy day now. "Right! Let's call Sage Bronius!"

"Looker, do you need a jetpack right now? We're inside, take it off."

"… Not a chance."

 **(***)**

Around an hour later, Reece plugged the last cable into the USB port of his computer. "All in!"

"Dear God," Alder muttered, looking at the maze of cable that was embedded in the phone, the computer, and several monitors around the room. "I've seen less complex Tangela..."

"Need everything though," Bastian said. "Detective Stamp says it's all needed. And he knows what he's doing with computers..."

Reece opened his Porygon-Z's Pokeball, and it joined the crowd of Policemen gathered around the nest of wiring, the cluster of computer wizardry. With a cry, it threw itself into the nearest monitor, becoming a mere hologram, a projection of itself as if entered cyberspace...

Bastian, headphones around his neck, smiled as the computer pinged, green lights flashing everywhere. He stuck a thumb up to Looker as Reece's fingers started flying across keyboards. "All systems go!"

"Right, get the map up!" Tash shouted in return.

Reece nodded, clicking a mouse key. Suddenly the room was bathed in light, as a screen larger than anything at the cinemas lit up on the wall. On the map of Unova, a traditional Police helmet marked the team's current location, while a targeting circle drifted over mountains, waiting to start tracking Bronius. "Online! Go for it, Looker!"

Looker held out the phone to Alder. "Sure you don't want to do this? Anyone else? Tash, how about you?"

"You do it, boss," she said, and before Looker replied she pressed the Call button. So he had no choice...

The answer came almost instantly. "Subterra Incorporated, masters of the underground. Sales Division speaking, how may I help you?"

Looker, startled in the moment, sought anything to disguise his voice, and in that moment chose to hastily adopt a very stereotypical British accent. "What ho! It's Bruce Dance here, from The Castelia Corporation, to speak to Mister Bronius about a potential contract?"

"Ah yes, we had the call earlier this morning, I'm just tracing your call logs…" There was a pause. "You are absolutely insistent on Mister Bronius dealing with you, sir?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear lady," Looker replied. "I must insist I speak to him."

"Certainly Mister Dance, I'll be putting you through now. Please ignore the slight interference, we have a little problem with the connection in Mister Bronius' office."

"Jolly good," Looker replied, looking at Alder as he waited as the Champion rolled his eyes at the accent.

There was a crackle at the other end, followed by a slight buzzing. "Guten Tag, Herr Dance. I am Heinrich Bronius."

"Bronius, my good sir, about bloody time! T'was a good hour before I got to talk to anyone decent!" Looker exclaimed, all the while trying to mask how happy he was that it had been so easy to get on the end of a phone with one of the men he was tracking down.

"Well, do accept my apologies," Bronius replied, curtly, in a clipped and precise German accent. "Now, what is it you want exactly? I am not familiar with your company's line of work..."

"I'd like to place an order for some diggers," Looker said, patiently watching Z's locator which was going very slowly. "You know, not the big excavators, but sort-of medium sized, perhaps? The sort you'd use to build foundations for skyscrapers? My construction company wishes to expand, and requires the finest equipment, naturally."

Bronius coughed. "Ah... Well, I shall be honest, I'm not as much use as normal. You see, last week we shipped most of our stock to a bulk buyer in Sinnoh, where a new archaeology expedition vas starting. We may not have enough."

"Oh, don't worry too much," Looker said. "How much do you have? We only need ten, good sir..."

"Ten we have!" Bronius said, barking in laughter- from the state of his lungs, Looker guessed that the Sage smoked. "Well, what luck you have, Herr Dance! Ten left in stockpile, ready for when you need them."

"Superb," Looker said, willing the progress bar to over halfway. "And the payment?"

"Six million Pokedollars will suffice," Bronius said.

"Room for negotiation, old chap?" Looker said, desperately trying to keep Bronius on the line. "The market's not what it used to be?"

"For my last excavators out of the stockpile? Surely not? You wouldn't insult me like that?" Bronius coughed again. "Now, I will pass you over to the Head of Executive Sales immediately. He will handle the fine details of your order, and you can talk with him at length about any queries. But before I go, I must say, danke schön. Your order is greatly appreciated. Auf Wiedersehen!"

"What?" Looker cried, suddenly alarmed. "No, Bronius, wait!"

There was a click, and a different and very insincere voice came on. "Mister Dance? This is Hal Gordon, Head of Executive Sales. Shall we sort out your order payment?"

Looker hung up, frustrated. "You're kidding me!" He threw the phone across the room, where it hit the wall and bounced, not smashing, smugly nestling intact in the mess of cables. "We lost him, didn't we?"

"Eighty percent locked on," Reece sighed, wearily, reading the print outs, 'Signal Lost' blaring on the screen. "Our best guess is somewhere in the vicinity of Driftveil, or possibly Nimbasa. Damn! So close!"

The team started cursing and moaning, unplugging the cables, and Looker fell silent, Croagunk sullen on his shoulder. His silence was broken though when his Pokegear rang, and he dug it out of his pocket; this was easier said than done, however, as he had to empty his pockets of half the devices he had pocketed earlier (including some rather volatile smoke bombs) before he could gingerly retrieve his Pokegear. "Hello?"

"Looker is that you?" came the soft voice's urgent question on the other end.

Looker stiffened, shocked, relieved, happy and worried all at the same time to hear that voice; how was she awake? "Anna?!"

"Yes it's me! Looker..."

"Anna how are you? Hurting anymore? Feeling a little better? How are they treating you in hospital?"

"Looker!" Anna snapped, cutting through the train of anxious questions, still apparently slightly ratty on medication. "It's the Triad!"

That made him pause. "What?"

"You heard me! One of the Triad has woken up out of his unconscious state. I think Nurse Joy gave him too small an injection. He's escaped, and I think he's heading for you!"

"Oh... shit." Looker hung up the phone and turned to the team. "Bad news."

"What's up Looker?" Tash asked. "Is Anna okay?"

"One of the Triad is out."

"Oh God," Reece said, remembering, as the others looked shocked. "Not them AGAIN."

"Are they difficult to beat?" Alder asked.

"Does a Maractus shit in the Desert?" Bastian asked sourly, and before a stunned Looker could make him apologise for his language in front of the Champion, he went on. "'Least it's only one this time..."

"We can beat him," the Champion said optimistically, drawing his Pokeballs, and Croagunk echoed his sentiment, as the door to the computer room squeaked. "There's plenty of us, powerful Trainers, against one ninja. What's the worry? We can do it!"

"Ah."

Looker span at the sound of the voice, soft like a whisper. Stood in the doorway was a short, pale-skinned young man clad in a ripped black jumpsuit, flaps of cloth hanging off, black gloves clenched into fists. His white hair rustled in the light breeze coming in from a window, and his eyes intently surveyed the Police...

The Shadow smiled weakly. "Guess this isn't the cell room you're holding Ghetsis in, is it?"

"They don't usually put the cells on the top floors, young man," Alder smirked, fingers inching towards his Pokeballs.

The ninja looked surprised. "Oh! Champion Alder! What a surprise! This is not looking good for me at all!" And with that, his hands sprang to his belt…

"Duck!" Looker yelled, and as the team threw themselves to the floor, the Shadow's shuriken fizzed past their heads to bury their sharp blade-tips into walls and PC screens. A smoke bomb soon followed, blanketing the room in smog, but Looker was up and charging after him as soon as the last shuriken went past, as was Tash, and Hilda, and Reece...

Nobody was going to let him get away.

There was a wild stampede down the stairs in pursuit of Plasma's ninja, headed for the exit, but Looker's team found themselves struggling. The Shadow was faster, fitter, stronger and more agile, somersaulting and jumping down whole flights in escape. But Looker's team wanted to arrest him, and they had the experience of arresting the other Sages too; pure desire drove them forward. This would be close.

The Shadow had leapt through the automatic doors, straight through the glass pane, straight out into the street, as Looker arrived at ground level to the sound of crunching glass underfoot. "There! After him!"

"Looker!"

Looker turned at the wheezing shout as he patted his pockets, mentally cursing as he realised he'd only pocketed a few of his gadgets in the chaos and had left most of them upstairs. "Yes Sergeant Forsyth? Rather busy at the moment!"

"He's stolen the evidence! I stopped him getting all of it, but he got his weapons and Zinzolin's Drapion! Stop him!"

"Trying to," Tash said under her breath, as she sprinted out of the smashed door onto the street after Looker, followed closely by everyone else. Spotting the Shadow heading east, they gave chase, trying to catch up.

The dash took the Police along the eastern side of the city, through vast streets that were mostly deserted, missing their usual vibrance. The mariachi band from before the chase of Ryoku were out though, and a steady trickle of people were coming to watch them- the guitarist once again got annoyed as the pursuit of the Shadow drew attention away from them.

"He's headed for Game Freak," Hilda pointed out, as the Shadow barged his way past employees, vaulted over a parked car and stormed through the doors of an immense skyscraper without slowing down.

"Ryoku used to work here, didn't he?" Reece asked, puffing slightly, out of breath.

Looker nodded on the run. "Okay. Reece, Bastian, check for anything Ryoku might have left behind, any paperwork, letters to him, etc. The rest of you..." He was cut off by the loud screams of terrified employees. The Shadow had apparently thrown more shuriken into the windows of Game Freak HQ, smashing them, in an attempt to frighten people into evacuating in a stampede that would hold Looker and co back.

Alder shook his head. "They never quit, do they?" He paused. "Wait, I remember these boys. Why isn't he teleporting?"

"They must need all three of them awake to teleport," Hilda said promptly. "Since Reece's Metagross put one in a coma I don't think he's teleporting any time soon..."

Looker nodded, as he and Croagunk forced their way into reception, the Shadow throwing a rather large knife in their direction before sprinting up the stairs. "Head up the stairs in pursuit! Chase him down!"

As the others disappeared up the stairs, the lift doors in reception pinged, and Croagunk grinned. "Croa croa!"

Looker smiled, and got in the lift, jabbing the button to get to the top floor, understanding Croagunk completely. Unlike the Police lift, the lift at Game Freak HQ was the world's fastest lift, capable of lightning speeds up the skyscraper. So Looker and Croagunk rose in comfort and quiet, and Looker stepped casually out of the lift at the top...

To be punched in the chest as the Shadow ran past, grabbing Looker's gun and something else from his pocket. Croagunk flew back, startled, to be trapped in the lift as the doors shut, as it started its descent back down.

"Oh come on!" Looker groaned, angry that his partner had been taken out of the equation, and he was made further angry when he saw how far behind his Officers were. So it was just him and the Shadow...

He followed the laughing Shadow out by the fire escape, onto the roof of the building. The breeze at ground level became a gale this high up, and Looker was glad he wasn't afraid of heights- the Game Freak HQ towered above the rest of Castelia, even above the construction cranes on other towers. On the plus side, it was a good view...

"Face it, Shadow," he yelled, "it's over! Don't run anymore!"

Leaning against a ventilation fan inlet, the Shadow yawned at him, throwing Looker's gun off the side of the tower before sending more shuriken flying towards Looker with a flick of his wrist.

Looker twisted instinctively, dodging and diving, avoiding most of them. He would have made the finest action movie stars proud. "Oh just come in quietly, won't you?"

The ninja laughed at him. "Ah, but it isn't the end, Looker! I can still keep running! Goodbye!" And with that, he sprinted across to the edge of the building and leapt off into the sky.

Looker sighed. "What the hell...?" He walked over to the edge, and then it became clear what the Shadow was doing..

The Shadow had stolen Looker's grappling hooks and line from his pockets, and had somehow in the brief moments he was falling set up a fulcrum on the rooftop. It was basically a rope swing between buildings; using the line and the elevation of the buildings, the Shadow was using his momentum to swing to the next building, away from Looker, to escape. And it was clever stuff from the Shadow, who had instantaneously calculated that it was possible and had done it without pausing for breath.

Alder arrived first on the rooftop, panting, to see Looker peering over the edge, shaking his head. "You alright Looker? I saw a gun fall past the window!"

"I'm fine," Looker said. "No damage done." He twisted around, and around, and finally noticed a large, smoking hole in the corner of his favourite jacket, before he glared at the swinging Shadow. "That kid's gonna pay."

"He jumped?" Alder asked, looking down.

"It's not suicide," Looker replied without looking up. "He's clever- he's using my grappling hooks to swing between buildings. Looks like he's got it a bit wrong though- he's going to land on the cranes in that building site, if my calculations are correct."

"So what do we do?" Alder asked. "I haven't a Pokemon who can use Fly on me, and your only Pokemon is currently trapped in a lift..."

"Well then," Looker said, looking up into Alder's eyes so the Champion could see the look in his eyes, "it's time for a bit of good old-fashioned International Police creativity."

Alder read his gaze. "No… You aren't going to..."

Looker turned around and started walking towards the fan, turning at it to face the edge. "I am. What choice do I have if I want to arrest him? And besides, I've done it before in Sinnoh. I'll be fine."

"But it's forty floors down from here!" the Champion yelled. "You're going to kill yourself!"

Looker grinned happily. "Not a chance!" He suddenly sprinted away from the desperate grab of Alder, pelting headlong towards the open sky and leaping off of the edge of the tower, falling feet-first from forty storeys up with a huge smile, his jacket billowing out behind him and flapping wildly from the air resistance. "Here I go!"

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And there we have it. Of all the stupid things to do.**

 **Next chapter- Looker's funeral, by the looks of it... Or has he got an ingenious plan? Possibly. Put it this way, it would be a unique and novel way to end the fic with Looker's funeral midway through the hunt, I'll tell you that much.**

 **Thanks for reading! As always, feel free to leave a review, or to put the icing on the cake by adding this fic/myself to your favourites and follows. Any and all support is appreciated.**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	13. Flying Without Wings

**A/N: Greetings all, it's ya boy. 13** **th** **chapter, unlucky for some?**

 **So last chapter concluded with the wonderfully insane move from Looker of throwing himself off the top of a forty story skyscraper in pursuit of a member of the Shadow Triad. I do hope he has a plan, don't you? It would be one hell of a surprising end to the fic if he didn't, let's be honest.**

 **Enjoy!**

Castelia City had been still and quiet in the morning, a peaceful city, slumbering in the red light of the sunrise. Besides those with an early start to the working day, the people had had no urgent need to do anything, to get up and out into the city centre, and neither had the weather. The water around the piers had been utterly, and not a leaf had stirred on the roads and sidewalks of the tranquil metropolis. Yet now the city was starting to come alive, a steady flow of Castelia denizens along the streets, the hustle and bustle of city life slowly restoring itself, and the weather was picking up too, gusts of wind starting to swirl between the skyscrapers, as high above the city a maze of updrafts and blasts of wind in all directions started to form...

Looker reflected on this in a moment. That morning, he hadn't paid much attention to the weather, but he had recognised the unearthly stillness that had enveloped Castelia, and now the changes were obvious. A light breeze had arrived and was slowly but steadily building up in speed and strength, gaining power by the minute, buffeting him harder and harder. Well, obviously some of the hard wind was his air resistance as he fell, and the wind wasn't really that strong, but it was strong enough to start to affect the direction in which he fell at least.

Commuting citizens had looked up in wonder and slight worry when the Shadow started to swing between buildings by using Looker's grappling hook. After all, on a normal trip around the city where they lived, they never normally looked up to see an agile ninja flying from rooftop to rooftop by swinging off of one of the tallest skyscrapers. Now though, they saw something else instead- now, they saw Looker, throwing himself off the top of the building in a reckless, thoughtless gesture, a futile attempt to pursuit. People screamed as they looked up, backing away from his path as he fell feet-first, trying to clear out of the area which he would inevitably land in with a horrible splat. As far as they saw it, his jump was suicide.

Looker's coat billowed behind him as he plunged towards the earth in a pencil dive, slowing his rapid descent just a little by acting as a makeshift parachute. It wasn't enough though- he was still falling towards the ground without a way to stop himself. Or so the people on the ground thought. But Looker had a plan…

Slowly, his fist unclenched to reveal the black device with the little red button in the palm of his hand, and as he began to twist the dial on the device, the bottom of the backpack he was wearing began to spit fire, somehow managing to not set his coat alight as the thrust it provided slowly began to arrest his momentum and prevent him slamming into the nearing ground. He looked up towards where he'd last seen the Shadow and spotted the ninja in the distance, whose swinging had brought himself up to the tallest crane in the city, trying to flee.

"Not on my watch," Looker muttered to himself above the howling gusts, ready to act, spurred into action not just by that sight but by the sight of the rapidly-approaching ground. "Now!"

As Looker slammed the red button in with a finger, the International Police's finest gadget, the jetpack-hidden-in-a-backpack, began to fire full thrust, completely stopping Looker's downward momentum in a second before beginning to kick in and bear him upwards on a pillar of flame. Looker had missed the jetpack- he hadn't used any Police gadgets since the whole affair with Team Galactic- and now he remembered what he'd been missing, what fun he'd had. No rudders, no brakes, just one button to ignite the burners, and twisting your whole body to steer, flying on your instinct. This was what he signed up for!

He tilted himself one way, then the other, flying through the cityscape, swooping around skyscrapers with grace. He twisted a pirouette as he reached the apex of a particularly strong updraft and feathered the controls, hanging for a moment, completely still except for his fluttering coat, high atop the world. Castelia stretched beneath him like a sprawling hive of human activity, and with the clear sky he could see right across the city to each horizon, into the bay that stretched beneath Castelia and around towards Driftveil. And now he acted against the Shadow.

Standing in the actual structure of the crane's boom, Team Plasma's pet ninja had retrieved the grappling hook he'd stolen from Looker, and was setting the wire up to swing off of the crane and onto a large banking tower when he heard the faint whine of a machine, something that he shouldn't have been able to hear at this height. Without turning, the ninja's hands flew to his belt on instinct, and two razor-sharp shuriken whizzed through the air, and the ninja turned to see what he had hit...

To see Looker bearing down on him, the sky ablaze behind him. As the shuriken flew with deadly intentions towards him, Looker twisted himself into a barrel roll to the right, avoiding the spinning blades, before cutting out the burners on the jetpack to fall the short distance onto the crane, dropping through into the boom to kick the Shadow in the chest. The ninja didn't seem that affected by the kick, sent reeling a little, but even as he stumbled he was able to regain his balance, and he was straight back up to face down Looker.

Looker stumbled a little on impact, having not used the jetpack like that in a while, but he recovered and shook his head, exasperated, as he moved forward. The crane's boom was made of interlocking metal girders, with huge sections of empty space, yet even when losing his balance the agile ninja didn't plummet through a gap to his death, instead finding a beam to balance on. "You Team Plasma lot just don't ever give up, do you?"

The Shadow grinned manically. "Ah-ha! Neither do you, Looker! I must say, I wasn't counting on you finding your wings. I thought you were a goner..."

"Good old International Police inventions," Looker said, still advancing. "They work when you need them the most." Then he looked. "However, they do appear to have let Team Plasma down..."

The ninja turned and noticed what Looker had seen- when Looker had kicked the ninja, the handle of the grappling hook had been thrown off the side of the crane, and was now dangling in the air carelessly. The Shadow's swing plan was now out of the window. "Oh, damn you Looker!"

Looker was about to reply with something witty, but instead he had to frantically duck as the Shadow launched into a midair roundhouse kick, and he avoided the kick by a millimetre. As he stumbled back though, trying to regain his footing on the slightly slippery bars, the Shadow lunged forward, keeping balance perfectly as fists span and kicks shot out, attempting to knock Looker from the crane. Looker noted how the ninja fought, like a machine, with patterns and rhythms- obviously Team Plasma trained him well with all the old, _predictable_ moves- and he managed to combat most of them. One surprise kick caught him in the stomach though, and the winded Looker staggered backwards in pain, his foot completely missing the bar as he fell through...

The Shadow walked over to where Looker had fallen through, and peered down into the gap. "That was close, wasn't it Looker?" he asked, almost cheerfully.

Looker grimaced in pain as he held onto the girder above him for dear life, clutching on fiercely with one hand. His legs dangled freely though below him, the hustle and bustle of the city a long, long way down. "I don't suppose a hand up would be alright?"

The Shadow laughed, as Looker's one hand on the crane began to slip a little. "I think not Looker!" He pulled his short sword- a wicked looking thing similar to a machete- from his belt and raised it, as Looker's fingers started to scrabble vainly at the girder, as he started to lose his grip. "Goodbye Looker!"

Looker hissed though, and as the sword started to come down he let go...

And pressed the button on the controller grasped in his other hand. The burners of the jetpack instantly ignited, and rather than falling Looker shot up like a champagne cork, through the gap in the crane. Taking the Shadow by surprise, he took the advantage and wrenched the sword from the ninja's grasp, before landing on the very top of the crane's boom. "Nice try."

The Shadow pulled himself up onto the top too to face off with Looker, his face suddenly unhappy. "It's not nice to steal."

"It's not nice to try to throw me off a crane," Looker reasoned.

"Touché," the Shadow replied, but suddenly he was ignoring Looker; suddenly he twisted and, from a standing start, launched into a front flip that brought two legs kicking up into the air, slamming into Looker's chin. The sword was wrenched from Looker's grasp, fortunately falling over the side of the crane and out of the Shadow's reach, but Looker hit the deck hard, the back of his head crunching against the metal of the crane as he fell backwards.

The Shadow smiled as he leaped over Looker, and wordlessly sprinted along the entire length of the crane's boom. Looker thought he was being reckless, but in actual fact the Shadow had given himself enough momentum to soar through the air and land on another, shorter crane, rolling a little as he impacted against the boom's roof.

"How does he do that?" Looker asked himself, groaning in pain and marvelling at the ninja's strength and lack of injury, but he didn't stay still for long. The jetpack's rockets kicked in again as Looker rose into the air, slowly this time, hovering for a little bit before gradually moving towards the other crane, setting himself down gently on the top. But that grace didn't last for long...

Looker whirled as the ninja appeared behind him suddenly, and swung blows at him with his elbows, his knees and anything else he could use. Looker knew the predictable moves, from experience, and he knew the Shadow would too, so by being unpredictable he would hold out well against his enemy.

He allowed himself a little smirk as a headbutt struck the ninja in the mouth, a tooth flying off into the sky, but the Shadow got a grip. He quickly dodged Looker's next moves and started smoothly somersaulting backwards along the boom, his hands sliding towards his belt. Looker saw this, saw the shuriken on the belt, and reached for his own pockets rapidly...

As the Shadow entered mid-jump, Looker raised yet another invention of the Police to his mouth, and blew quickly on the panpipe gun. The one shot it offered hit the young man in the shoulder, but he couldn't prevent the shuriken in the left hand from wheeling dangerously through the air and finding its mark...

The Shadow smiled as the fuel pipe on Looker's jetpack was severed, the liquid that gave Looker the power of flight sprayed across the boom. "Well, there go your flight plans, Detective. Whereas I am on the next departure..." He massaged his shoulder very briefly, seeming completely unscathed by the tiny bullet of the gadget Looker had fired at him, and threw himself off the side of the boom into empty space. "Cheerio!"

Looker knew he was on borrowed time with the jetpack. It was running on half a tank, as he hadn't refuelled it at all in weeks, having not used it since Galactic, but it made him angry that he couldn't fly. As he looked over the side though he realised that the Shadow could- what he'd mistaken for tattered fabric hanging from the black jumpsuit actually formed part of the wings of an Emolga suit. He'd only heard of them a week ago from Reece, but they used fabric as wings, and basically turned the wearer into a flying squirrel, able to glide effortlessly for short periods of time. Unless he did something, the Shadow would use the Emolga suit to fly away to freedom...

He sighed to himself, and leapt off the crane into the void in pursuit.

This time, as the wind whipped past Looker, as he plunged towards Earth slowed only by the air resistance of his coat, he felt quite worried, almost afraid. This time, he wasn't as high up, but he didn't have anything to launch himself back in the air and save his life. This time he really was going to go splat on the sidewalks of Castelia, unless he thought of something quickly...

As luck would have it, Looker's billowing coat itself was providing him with a semi-useful solution to his problem. By grabbing the corners of it and lifting them up under his arms, he could give himself half-wings of fabric, able to control the direction of his rapid descent. It wasn't an Emolga suit, but, as Looker rolled to avoid a wild Swanna flying past, he realised it was better than death. And so, using the wind, his coat and his already high speed, Looker somewhat unsteadily began to exercise the bare minimum of control over his fall as he soared through the concrete and glass jungle in pursuit of the Shadow. The inhabitants of Castelia looked up in wonder from the streets as the two flying men streaked past overhead, weaving a pathway between towers and around block corners.

The one thing Looker didn't want was a dogfight, as in his position holding onto his coat corners he couldn't access any weapons, and couldn't dodge as well as the Shadow. Unfortunately for him though as the Shadow rolled gracefully in midair, speeding around a corner on a fresh burst of wind, he spotted Looker, and his expression hardened, angered at the revelation that Looker had come up with a way to give chase. Twisting onto his back, not looking where he was flying or what obstacles would appear, the ninja managed to fire off two shuriken at Looker.

"Where does he get all of those from?" Looker muttered, doing a barrel roll to avoid the spinning blades, but suddenly his vision was blurred with a cloud of thick black fog. Choking, he powered through the smoke from the smoke bomb the Shadow had set off, and fell into the trap- while the Shadow had dived down, Looker was out of control, and about to plough headfirst into the windows of a skyscraper. Barely any time to react, Looker stretched his arms out and closed his eyes, preparing for impact…

To his surprise, two sets of claws suddenly slammed into him, fortunately not piercing the skin as powerful wings above him beat their heart out to compensate for catching Looker mid-flight. He looked up from the clutch of the talons, stunned, before he realised what it was that had caught him. "Braviary?!"

"Croa gunk!"

Looker smiled as he looked up the back of Hilda's Braviary to see his reliable companion and partner Croagunk, perched precariously on the head of the Valiant Pokemon, piloting him through the blocks of Castelia. The Police had obviously seen Looker's jetpack flames, and had sprung into action- while Braviary and Croagunk had been sent to rescue him as his jetpack and makeshift wings failed, a Police helicopter buzzed above the city, and Looker could spot Tash at its helm, looking worried. As he looked up, there was an almighty roar, and something shot past on a pillar of billowing flame- Looker could just about make out Hilda, face determined, holding onto Reshiram for dear life.

"Great work buddy," he said softly, as Braviary flapped over to a smaller building nearby and set the Detective down on its roof. Slightly giddy, his legs nearly gave out, but as Braviary landed Looker pulled himself up onto its back alongside Croagunk.

Croagunk actually smiled, and saluted, handing Looker a radio which he'd somehow stored in the feathers of Hilda's Pokemon. Looker, not questioning it, looked up, assessed the scene, and planned. He knew what to do NOW.

"All Police units, this is Detective Looker," he announced, as Braviary lifted off again. "I am alive and well, but I'm not going to be happy if that Shadow gets away. He's headed into the centre of the city; all ground units, track him over your heads, and follow him. I'm going in!"

Looker switched off the radio before he looked down. Down below him, in the exact centre of the metropolis, was a stark contrast to the maze of metal, glass and concrete- a large garden/park, with plenty of greenery and trees. It was a pleasant area, built at the intersection of every road in the city, and down those roads Looker could spot Policemen approaching the park, led by Alder and apparently, the new detective Danny. With a large flowing fountain in the middle and lush green grass all around, the park was acclaimed as the most beautiful spot in the city. This was Central Plaza. And this was where the Shadow would make his last stand...

The ninja was already on the ground as Braviary dived, lining up for a final approach- he appeared to be fiddling with something. He was bent over, handing something over, and as Braviary landed with a thump he started to turn, a Pidove revealed from behind him, something attached to its leg. The Pidove flew off as the Shadow looked up at the magnificent Braviary, but his faint smile turned into a snarl as Looker leapt off. "You!"

"I just don't die, do I?" Looker said happily, aware his voice was a little ragged. "Good idea, but Braviary and Croagunk came to back me up."

"This is beyond a joke now, Looker," the Shadow seethed. "How can you survive and have so much luck?"

"Because we're the good guys," Alder said, walking up to stand beside Looker with a nod. "The good guys will always win. No matter how naïve that may sound, we always overcome."

As the Shadow shook his head and started to form a reply, Looker interrupted, as he stepped forward. "That was a messenger Pidove, I take it?"

"Indeed," the Shadow nodded, walking backwards as Looker approached. "Getting the one vital thing to the person who wants it."

"One of your Sages, I assume? My guess is Giallo, or Rood. Not that it matters. I'm still arresting you here and now."

"Ha!" The ninja laughed, some of his confidence returning as he drew a thin, curved sword from behind his back. Looker hadn't noticed that before. "You'll never take me alive! Come on! Fight me!" And as Looker opened his mouth to reply, the ninja yelled something unintelligible, before charging at him, the sword raised in mid-air...

There was a blur from one of the bushes, and a black shadow sneaked across in front of the sprinting Shadow, a trailing leg stuck out to trip him up. The ninja's momentum carried him over the leg, stumbling forward, before the figure span on the spot to ram home a knee to the stomach of the ninja...

As the ninja hissed in pain, his assailant stood back, and walked casually to stand by Alder's side. The man looked almost vampiric, with very pale skin and upper-class clothes, but there was a hint of shabbiness about them. There was nothing shabby about his long black fringe, or the twin peaks of black hair sticking up into the air like devil horns, but there was a tiredness and a sense of boredom in those deep eyes...

Grimsley of the Elite Four flicked his scarf back over his shoulder, dusting himself off. "I don't think you'll be hurting anyone with that sword," he drawled, a lazy, arrogant voice, as he twirled a Pokeball between his fingers. "Will he Caitlin?"

"No he won't," a low female voice said, sounding almost hollow. A sleepy-looking young girl with very long blonde hair, trailing like a carpet, had emerged from behind a tree, dressed all in pink, her eyes glowing blue as blue Psychic energy crackled around the sword the Shadow held, wrenching it from his grasp and sending it spinning into the trees.

As Caitlin emerged from behind a tree, another woman emerged behind the fountain, an array of impressive Ghost-type Pokemon flanking her and cutting off the Shadow's exits behind. Dressed in a short purple dress and tights, clutching a book, she didn't appear at first to be battle-ready, but beneath the purple hair, brown eyes stared intently at the ninja from behind thin glasses, watching his every move, checking him out as an opponent. Shauntal wouldn't let him get away…

And neither would the final arrival. As the Shadow overcame Caitlin's Psychic push and struggled to his feet, two strong, big, muscly arms lifted the ninja into the air and threw him across the Plaza into the side of the fountain. The orange and black hair of the newcomer contrasted with his brown skin, hardened by many a fight, and muscles rippled along his body, while his baggy pants billowed in the breeze. His eyes were surprisingly deep and determined, and he had massive paw-like fists, bigger than Bastian's, a black belt around his waist also indicating that he was a brute of a man.

Marshal laughed at the ninja, whose defined muscles looked small and pathetic besides the Elite Four Trainer, as the Shadow pulled himself upright against the fountain, the Elite Four, Alder and Looker all closing in on him as the Police cut off his avenues of escape. "Wow," he said in a deep voice, "you're pretty screwed here, boy."

The Shadow spat defiantly on the floor. "Boy?" he sneered, any sense of joviality gone; there was only anger and arrogance, the obviousness that he had lost his cool. "You cannot defeat me! All of you, standing together, will not defeat the might of Team Plasma!"

"Sounds a bit like desperation to me," Grimsley muttered.

Looker nodded. "Now, as I see it, Shadow, you have only three options. You can't run, because there's no exit. You could surrender, right here, right now, and end this. Or you could make it difficult, but we would destroy you in a Pokemon battle, with the five..." he paused as Hilda and Reshiram landed with a bump behind him, "make that six, strongest Trainers in Unova. And I wouldn't count on you winning a fight either..."

"Oh really?" the Shadow said, laughing suddenly. "I'll take you all on!" His hand went to his belt and paused. "Wait..."

"Looking for these?" Caitlin asked, voice low, as her Psychic powers levitated the Pokeballs she'd stolen from the Shadow in the air in front of her.

"Not bad," said Grimsley. "You're almost as sly as me sometimes, Caitlin."

"Don't go that far, Grimsley," Shauntal warned, not looking away from the Shadow.

The Shadow growled. "Then I have no choice..." He screwed up his eyes, and disappeared from existence...

To reappear in the water of the fountain a foot behind him, screaming in pain from the many bleeding cuts on his body.

"What's up with him?" Alder asked. "Did he just try to teleport?"

Looker nodded. "He did. But he can't teleport. The Triad need all three members in a triangle to successfully teleport- without them, he takes up the strain of ripping reality apart all by himself. And he can't do that. It's ripping him apart."

The Shadow snarled again, pulling himself up to the top of the ornamental fountain by willpower alone, the water flowing red, stained by his blood. "What is this pain?!"

"This is why you don't run from us," Looker said, matter-of-factly, walking up to the edge of the fountain. "It never ends well. And that's why you don't try and teleport- we put your brothers in a coma. They won't wake up for a while..."

The Shadow wiped something away from the corner of his eye, and wrenched his last two shuriken from his belt, spinning them in his hands. "No! I will not be beaten! I will succeed, for Lord Ghetsis!"

"No you won't."

The Shadow turned behind him and threw the two shuriken at the speaker. "YES. I. WILL!"

Reece jumped to the floor and rolled out of the shuriken's flight path, before standing up and dusting himself off, an open Pokeball in his hand. "No you won't. Because you're about to find out what we did to your brothers."

Too late, the weary Shadow, exhausted and battered and bruised and torn from the fight, realised that something was wrong. Too late did he realise that a shadow was falling across him, that he couldn't dodge it. Finally, after a lengthy and drawn-out pursuit and fight, the ninja would be taken down, the same way the other two had fallen in the Relic Castle; Reece's Metagross, levitating unseen above the fountain, cut its levitation to drop from on high and catch a blow to the side of the Shadow's head, the force of the five-hundred-pound falling Metagross enough to severely concuss him and knock him out, if not put him in a coma.

As Metagross landed with a thump and a splash in the fountain, Looker reached down into the spray and the water and fished out the body of the ninja, sodden and bedraggled, bloody cuts covering his skin. He slapped a pair of handcuffs to the Shadow's wrists, not taking any chances, and hauled the unconscious prisoner to his feet, wordlessly hauling him off in the direction of Police HQ as Croagunk hopped onto Looker's shoulder. Alder and co followed him, walking behind, asking why he wouldn't let them take care of it, but Looker was determined to deliver the Shadow to Aurelius himself. He had fought for it, he had nearly died for it, but he had beaten the Shadow. And now he would be the one to drag him in, to bring him in...

 **A/N: Well, there we are. I hope you enjoyed. We all knew Looker wasn't going to die, didn't we? At least, I hope you didn't think I'd kill him off like that. I couldn't do that to one of my favourites.**

 **Next chapter- time to take to the streets to clean up this mess!**

 **Thanks for reading! A review is always appreciated, whether constructive or glowing with praise (just no flames, yo). And I always love a favourite or follow, whether of myself or my work.**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	14. Cleaning Up The Streets

**A/N: Here we are folks. It's ya boy, bringing you chapter 14 of The Chase! And I know, it's been a while since updates to this or The Remnants- my second year exams had to take priority, but I'm sorry!**

 **A lot of people seem to be guessing that the mystery phone caller of chapter 8 is Colress. Not a bad bit of guesswork, considering he's not been mentioned at all yet. I'll leave you all guessing for now, shall I?**

 **Anyway, after the frantic chase of the last chapter and a half, and the climactic battle to bring the Shadow back into custody, what lies in wait next for Looker and co? I guess it's time to find out.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(***)**

On Castelia's streets the afternoon sun started to truly come out in full, and finally the dull, gloomy stillness of the early morning was starting to lift. The last of the shadows were expelled from the corners they were lurking in as high in the sky light rained down on the metropolis. The day was cool, a pleasant sea breeze making Castelia's wide avenues a nice place to be, and now the city's residents were starting to come out in earnest to enjoy the day; the buzz had been restored, the hum of hundreds of conversations loud from the crowds of people who moved from place to place like a swarm. If Castelia could have been compared to anything, it really was a Durant hive- frenetic and energetic, the movements of thousands of bodies a rush in a vast maze of towering structures.

Commissioner Aurelius had always used the Durant analogy, ever since moving to Castelia and taking over the top job in the Police. In fact, his favourite pastime was simply watching the chaotic, unpredictable world pass by beneath him. But now he was aware of something else, something that hung in the air of the city- there was a whisper. As far as he could tell from the laptop monitoring social networking sites and the media, rumours were flying around Castelia, rumours of a flying man, of a fight on the cranes, of a man who nearly killed himself falling. He'd been told by Forsyth that Looker was out on a mission, and now this. What had he been up to? Aurelius had no idea, and after sending half of the Police into the city to help him in whatever it was he was doing, Aurelius was a little worried. Was Looker on to something?

The visitor in Aurelius' office coughed politely, shuffling a little in the large, solid chair he had drawn up to the desk to talk to Aurelius. His skin was fair and pale, but not to the extent of the vampire-esque Danny Stamp- this man was also more expansive, with a substantial paunch that suggested he was a gourmet (although this was nowhere near the largeness of the Commissioner's stomach). The best phrase to describe him was 'padded-out'- the man was comfortable in his own body, happy to sit back, relax and enjoy the smooth and casual ride of life, watching it all through full blue eyes that had intense depth. "Thomas, my friend, are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Aurelius said, turning away from looking out of the window and sitting back down in a hurry. "It's nothing, honestly."

The man waited patiently for a flicker of betrayal in Aurelius' eyes. "Thomas, I'm worried you're not being totally honest with me. Are you quite well?"

Aurelius waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. Just a little concerned about current events in the city, that's all."

The man nodded slowly. "I see. I would assume you're talking about the flying man. You know him?"

"Yes," the Commissioner replied, wearily sighing. "He's survived, according to the news, and thank God- I really would be up a creek without a paddle if he didn't. I just worry what has happened in the city, what's gone wrong to require his intervention. He was supposed to be on mission you know, and I've had to scramble everyone to aid him in the hope that we can help him in whatever he's doing."

The man put two and two together. "Ah, so that man is Detective Looker, the leader of your Team Plasma investigation. It's certainly troubling that his assistance is needed in our city." He paused. "How is he to work with? We've talked a little about your Police's successes in cutting down street crime, and Gym Leader Burgh informs me that you have done a sterling job, but how goes the crucial work? The hunt to finally bring down the greatest threat to Unova's safety and integrity?"

Aurelius smiled at last, albeit faintly. "I can see why Looker is one of the Police's finest, and how he managed to save Sinnoh. Glowing references, sharp wit, and a genius mind at adapting to a situation. He's a little bit of a loose cannon, sure, I can see where that might have cost him before. And don't get me started on his Croagunk's manners. But yes, he's an asset to have around."

"I see. Now, I know that Team Plasma's leader, Mr Ghetsis Harmonia, was arrested before Looker's arrival, but what of the rest?"

Aurelius cracked his knuckles, getting down to business; this man was one of the few he could report this to. "Well, for starters it is not Looker's job to go after N Harmonia. That is the responsibility of a one Inspector Marlborough, in Sinnoh leading that operation. Looker however seems to believe that N is not in Sinnoh, for reasons unknown to me and that Marlborough is wasting time."

"And who do you trust?"

"Probably Looker. But let's face it, Looker doesn't have enough time on his hands for all these investigations, so as much as I want to intervene I'm leaving N to Marlborough. With, of course, a flea in her ear about considering searching elsewhere."

"Okay. And the Sages?"

"Glad you asked! Looker has been sensational so far with the Sages. Gorm, Ryoku and Zinzolin are all under arrest at the moment, and despite no real information spilt so far, despite lips being generally sealed, Looker has uncovered that the Sages may have their own agenda, their own Plan. He has also eliminated the threat of the Shadow Triad, as two of them lie in a coma-"

"A coma? Wait, he put them in one?" the other man asked, but he was aware that Aurelius had trailed off, his mouth agape as he stared across the office. "Thomas?" The Commissioner still didn't respond to him, looking shocked, and the man turned...

The sight that greeted him was truly an impressive one. A huge group of people were clustered around the open front doors of the elevator up to Aurelius' office, and the man realised for the first time the strength of the operation against Team Plasma. The Elite Four of Unova, Alder the Unova Champion, Hilda Grey the Master of Reshiram, and a group of officers he assumed to be Aurelius' elite team to take on Team Plasma. All of them, however, were headed up by one man, holding a limp body in his arms, the leader of the team...

Looker detached himself from the crowd of teammates and set off towards Aurelius, Croagunk hopping along behind him in what was (for once) a smart fashion. Upon reaching the Commissioner's desk, Looker dumped the body of the Shadow on the wooden surface before Aurelius, and stepped back smartly. "Mission accomplished, sir."

Aurelius was stunned. He hadn't known that the ninja had woken up and escaped, that the ninja was the person who Looker had been fighting on rooftops, and the sight of an enemy he thought defeated shocked him, so much so that he was left grasping for straws as to how to start the conversation. "Looker... what the hell do you call this?!"

"An unconscious ninja, sir," Looker replied. "This was the Shadow who wasn't knocked into a coma by Reece's Metagross, sir. He woke up, beat up a nurse and tried to make off with valuable evidence. One piece got away, but the rest is safe, and our friend here..." Croagunk kicked the body with feeling and strength. "He won't be waking up for a while, sir."

"He escaped?" Aurelius said, stunned. "My God. And he just walked in here and walked out with the evidence..." He trailed off, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "That was you with the jetpack, out there, wasn't it? You jumped off a building, Looker! What would you have done if the jetpack didn't work?"

"Splashed, sir?" Reece suggested, trying to keep a straight face and failing, as Hilda and Marshal started laughing.

Aurelius silenced them with a glare, gesturing to the body that was dripping water over his desk and carpet. "And then you come in here, barging into an important meeting, with the limp body of a criminal and half of Unova's Pokemon Trainer hierarchy?!"

"Sorry Mr Aurelius," Shauntal said, smiling meekly. "We just wanted to get him in safely, and to make sure that you knew Looker was alright and that we'd won."

"A commendable attitude," the man said, smiling benevolently at Aurelius. "Glad to see that the Elite Trainers are taking an interest in the Team Plasma affair, and that your team is successful in keeping us safe."

"Thank you, my friend," Looker replied, nodding to him. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name..."

"Leeway. Robert Leeway. Mayor of Castelia, for my sins." Croagunk offered a cigarette to the Mayor, which made him laugh. "I was discussing with Thomas here your successes, and might I take this opportunity to tell you how very happy I am to see such a well-oiled, polite and fantastically able team here to keep the peace."

"Um, wow," Tash said, gratefully. "Thank you, Mister Mayor. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Please, call me Robert. Everyone else does."

"Daddy!"

"Or they call me that," the mayor muttered, as a loud childish voice rang out across the office, making everyone turn. "Yes dear?"

The new arrival tottered into the office rather daintily, a little girl who looked just a couple of years below Pokemon Trainer age. She was unbelievably cute, in her blue skirt and white blouse with knee-length white socks, and adorable little red shoes that clicked on the floor. Her light purple fringe framed big, blue cute eyes that oozed charm, and made a few people in the room instantly reach for their wallets to give her money (even Grimsley, whose gambling habits and debts were so dire that he KNEW he had no money AT ALL). "Daddy, can I go outside? I really wanna go outside! It's boring staying in here!"

Robert sighed. "Ladies and gentlemen, my daughter, Lottie. Believe me, you weren't interrupting a serious meeting; it's hard to focus when your 8-year-old daughter is wandering around asking for things."

"Kids, who'd have them?" Grimsley snarked, to nervous laughter- Looker laughed more though at the disappointed face Shauntal made.

"Darling, it's only going to be a few more minutes before we leave," Robert said. "Can't you just hold on a little longer?"

"But Daddy, I really wanna! I'll take Hamish to protect me!" A small, harmless looking Herdier, the least likely thing to protect anything, peeked around her legs. "Pwease?"

Half the room's wills melted to that word, and the mayor's was one of them. "Alright, fine. But you're going out with one of the Police Officers to protect you, okay?"

Lottie beamed, and the 'Aww's were loud and clear, as Aurelius motioned to the wizened old desk sergeant Forsyth to go with her (Looker laughed in his head at the fact Aurelius had picked the least likely to have fun with her). "Okay! Thank you Daddy!"

Robert shook his head as his daughter skipped off, loyal Herdier and old man in tow. "I can never say no to her, you know?" He smiled benignly.

"I can see why," Looker said, nodding. "So, where were we? You're having a meeting here, and we've brought in the Shadow, but what now?"

Aurelius clapped his hands. "We continue our work. It's excellent, Champion Alder, that your Elite Four are here to help too, considering I have been meaning to have a meeting with all of you about the region's current situation. Mayor Leeway and I wish to talk to you on this matter."

Caitlin nodded, slowly. "Certainly, Commissioner. But what of the others?"

Aurelius looked at them all. "Are you still here? Go on now, back to work! Playtime with Looker's toys is over; we still have three fugitive Sages to catch. I believe you were tracking down Bronius?"

"Yessir," Bastian said, saluting, before he slung the ninja's body over one immense shoulder. "If I could be excused from that, I've planned an interview with Ryoku. I shall go and lock up the Shadow on the way though."

Aurelius nodded. "Be my guest. The rest of you, your equipment has not been touched or fiddled with. You should be able to pick up from where you left off with Bronius."

Looker smiled. "Okay team, let's get back to work! We're close to getting him now..."

As the team followed Looker into the elevator, waving goodbye to the mayor and to the Elite Trainers as they settled down for a meeting with Aurelius, Reece shook his head. "No time off, then?"

"Yeah, I thought that," Hilda said, as the doors slid shut and the lift started its slow descent. "Looker, you've just jumped off of two cranes and a skyscraper, and nearly been killed, and we've successfully recaptured a leading Team Plasma member, all in one morning."

"Surely we should be entitled to a little rest?" Tash finished.

Looker shrugged, the shakiness of the adrenaline rush evaporating. "Personally, I think its best we keep working on this. We are very close to Sage Bronius, so it would be a shame to waste it. But I understand what you mean- jumping off a tall crane with no way to stop yourself is a traumatic experience, and people don't tend to immediately go back to work after that."

The team laughed, as they stepped out of the elevator into the large computer room that they had occupied. On the screen before them, the avatar of Reece's Porygon-Z was still whizzing around the pixelated screen in cyberspace, ready to continue where they left off, and Looker noted how the avatar appeared to be bouncing impatiently off the sides of the screen.

"Back to work then, you two," Tash called to Hilda and Reece, plugging herself in with a pair of headphones. "You heard Looker and the Commissioner, Bronius won't just hand himself in!"

Looker put an arm out before Reece could exit the elevator and stopped him. "Not you."

"Huh? You don't want me to..."

Looker shook his head. "No. I want you to go and sort out the evidence with Bastian. I heard Forsyth say he'd stolen stuff, but he doesn't seem to know for sure what."

"And my job?"

"Find out what the Shadow made off with, what's missing, categorise everything and report back to me on why some of it is in there. This is vital- I need to know what the Sages were carrying, so I can get into their minds and see what planning they've done."

"Sure!" Reece paused. "Wait, when you say get into their minds, you're not going to use Caitlin's Psychic powers, are you?"

"CROA!" Croagunk said adamantly, waving his arms frantically.

"He's right. It's immoral to use a Psychic in that way, and it's bad enough that we've already put three Plasma members in a coma trying to stop their Plan. I think we might be able to argue that was necessary, but mental Police brutality like that would cost us our jobs." Looker stopped talking as a familiar face crossed the room and made his way towards him. "Ah, Danny! Any news?"

Detective Danny Stamp didn't reply, looking a little anxious as he fiddled with a pair of glasses Looker hadn't seen him wearing before. "Aurelius sent me down to see you. You need to come and see something..."

 **(***)**

In Castelia City Pokemon Centre and Hospital, the Major Incident Ward was mostly quiet and deserted, only a few Nurses and Doctors working. After Looker had ditched his broken backpack at HQ, and cleaned himself up a little, he had followed Danny here to find out what was going on. On his way through the eerie, dark corridors, he could hear the drip of water from something very far off, the only noise in a building quieter than a funeral parlour, and the same morbid feeling hung in the air. This was an area of gloom and sadness.

Croagunk shivered, feeling it the most. "Gunk..."

"Danny, why have you brought me here?" Looker asked in a whisper, confused and yet somehow slightly worried. An idea was forming in his head, and he was dreading being here if that idea was right.

Wordlessly, Danny stopped, and motioned for Looker to look through a window into one of the rest areas, and Looker pressed his face up close to the glass, peering through the dankness and darkness into who was lying down on the bed. "No..."

Danny looked sad, very glum, as Looker saw Anna Maeda, her eyes closed, peace somehow emanating from her pale face, delicate black makeup stained with tears. "I know. Shortly after you stormed out in pursuit of the Shadow, she collapsed at HQ. She hadn't fully recovered yet from the operation to remove the bullet Zinzolin shot at her, and her heart was weak."

"Cardiac arrest?" Looker breathed, not believing Danny's words.

The tall Detective nodded. "Her heart gave out on her- because of the stress and pace, her heartbeat had raced to uncomfortably high levels. She was, technically, dead for seventy-two seconds, which is why they won't let us in to see her. But she's alive."

Looker could see inside that room, and saw the heartbeat monitor that was registering a pitifully-low beat to Anna's heart, saw the coldness of her face and skin, saw how frail she looked compared to the first time he had seen her. "She's not giving up the fight though. She forced herself to come to us, to warn us about the Shadow. She still fiercely wants to defeat Plasma."

"I know. A superbly brave attitude. I know her from Police Academy, Looker, I trained with her as one of my friends. I tell you, if she was conscious right now, she would be wanting to get up and about to help us. But she will be frustrated by how weak she really is- her recovery will take a while. She won't be ready for field work for another month, and it'll be two weeks before she's even ready for an office job."

"Croa..." Croagunk said, forlornly and miserably, turning away from the window sadly. He'd liked Anna, Looker could tell that much, and this was affecting him deeply. Looker never normally saw Croagunk like this, as he was often sarcastic and hid his true feelings, but when he saw Croagunk's real emotions he knew it was a bad situation to be in.

"Come on," Danny said softly, noticing Croagunk's face and starting to walk away from the window. "Let's leave her be. We have other things to discuss too..."

Looker nodded, following him, giving the sleeping Anna a final goodbye and walking towards the exit behind Danny, Croagunk in tow. "Have you told the Commissioner about this?"

"No. All he had was a phone call asking Looker to come visit her in the hospital. He doesn't know that she was the one who came in and warned us, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Let her recuperate in peace, you know?"

"Croa gunk croa?" Croagunk asked, looking confused.

"Oh yeah. What did you mean, 'other things'?"

Danny nodded, as they passed the receptionist Nurse Joy and the small line of young Trainers wanting their Pokemon healed, heading out of the door into Castelia. "Yes. I've been doing some Detective work myself, while you've been flying."

"Next time, we'll swap," Looker said, smiling faintly. "Never mind Anna, I'm not sure my heart can take any more stunts like that."

Danny laughed lightly. "Ha! You're sounding like that old miser Forsyth!" He paused, looking thoughtful. "Anyway, I've been researching, and sorting out."

"Oh yeah? What've you found out?"

Danny, currently dressed in a dark black jacket that was a lot less shiny than the suit Looker had seen him in when they were introduced, produced something from inside his jacket pocket and handed it to Looker. "Hilda found this in Ryoku's desk in the Game Freak office that he worked in."

Looker opened the envelope and slid out a thin piece of paper. "Blueprints?"

Danny nodded. "For who, I don't know, but the machine on this diagram appears to be able to draw energy from Pokemon and their attacks, and store it."

"A useful device," Looker said, "but for what purpose?"

"Again, I have theories, but I'm uncertain. Under close examination under ultraviolet light though I discovered a Team Plasma crest in the top right corner, and I discovered the stamp required to do such a thing in Ryoku's desk drawer. This is their document. They want this machine. And, the clincher, this is a copy. You can see from the marks around the edge. The original has already been sent to someone else."

"So Plasma have a machine that we know very little about, and will use it for unclear purposes. But could this be part of their Plan- do they need something to activate it?"

Danny smiled. "You are very good at joining the dots, Looker. It took me a little longer to come to that conclusion. Shows who the great Detective who took down Team Galactic is..."

Looker shrugged off the compliment modestly. "I might be taking a leap here, Danny. Any other clues you could find in the drawer?"

"A photo of a scientist. A blonde-haired man, with blue-framed glasses, and the name Akuroma was on the back. We tested the photo on the Police database, and came up with nothing, and we tested for fingerprints on both pieces of evidence, but whoever handled it was wearing gloves."

"Akuroma?" Looker asked, curious.

"A name that does not exist. However, Colress Achroma DID exist. When searching with the photo, the entries of Akuroma had been erased, but not of Colress Achroma. He was a gifted scientist, an expert in Pokemonology, cybertech and engineering. And he apparently died two years ago, in a laboratory explosion; he has not been seen since. He is a ghost, a disappearance."

"So could Colress be alive?" Looker thought out loud. "Could he be in league with Plasma?"

"I don't know. There are witnesses to say they saw him die, but the evidence we have is intriguing. There was nothing suspicious about him though, no criminal record. I believe Plasma dug up the blueprints for the machine Colress built that exploded, and adjusted them. You can see the more recent pen marks and different handwriting on the blueprints where someone else has edited Colress' designs- surely the man himself would be the one to edit them?"

"Interesting," Looker mused, puzzled by the enigma of Colress. "So you think it was this machine that was destroyed… what else have you found out?"

Danny checked his Xtransceiver. "Well, that's Reece. I've found out that all of the evidence is back and safe, all accounted for, except for Zinzolin's Drapion's Pokeball."

"How odd," Looker commented. "That's not what I would expect to be high-priority for theft."

"I know, it's curious. I've also done some looking into the paperweight mystery, and eliminated the unlikely suspects. You and Croagunk are accounted for, as is Tash, and Anna is too injured to have done it, but anyone else is open season. Forsyth perhaps would struggle to make it upstairs so quickly, but it could be Reece or Bastian; both of them met each other in the evidence locker, so they have alibis there, but what happened before is vague."

"I discounted Reece immediately," Looker said. "He's a good friend and a great Officer, but he is too young and too reckless- he doesn't have the mind to plan such an elaborate conspiracy against the Commissioner."

"But he still doesn't like him. I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly. But then, of course, the Commissioner himself could be bluffing us- he could have made the fake paperweight to make us discount him as suspicious. Bastian could have placed it, when he went up to find the other evidence, or Forsyth if he's able to move quickly despite his joints, but I'm ruling out Hilda, as heroes who originally took out Plasma."

Looker nodded, having come to the same conclusion on Hilda, and smiled. "You are VERY good, Mr Stamp."

Danny rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I try, sir. A compliment like that from you is worth a lot to me... Oh, and I also think I've worked out where Bronius is hiding."

"GUNK CROA?!" Croagunk yelled, startling a small Pidove.

Danny grinned. "It's easy really. When you were talking to him on the phone, there was an unusually high level of static interference. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but even a Porygon-Z working its magic at the source of the call doesn't affect it that much. That means Bronius is hiding somewhere with an unusually high level of background energy."

Something clicked, a lightbulb going off in Looker's head. "...! Aha!"

Danny nodded. "You passed it on the way into Castelia when you arrived in Unova, and I imagine Reece told you all about it. Bronius is the Underground King, ruler of the mines and caves. So he's gone on the run, and literally gone underground, into one of the caves his company technically owns, where the energy produced plays havoc with electrical equipment. That would lead us to the Chargestone Cave."

Looker stared at him. "That is brilliant. If you're right, Aurelius and I owe you a serious promotion."

"A box of donuts will do just fine," Danny replied, smirking, as they turned the corner towards the HQ, but his face suddenly hardened as he saw the building. "Wait a minute..."

Looker saw it too now, and it was not a nice sight- Lottie Leeway had her back pressed up against a wall, her Herdier yapping at her feet, staring down the large, muscular Scrafty that had its fists balled. The young girl looked terrified, and the shirtless owner of the Scrafty was grinning evilly, the unconscious body of Sergeant Forsyth at his feet with his hoodie; Looker swore he had never seen a Trainer look so much like their Pokemon. They must have been brothers, surely...

The youth looked down at Lottie with a grin like a hungry Sharpedo spotting a Goldeen stray into its lair. "Now now, little girl, you see what happens if you attack me! You end up like the old git here!" He pulled a knife from the belt around his mangy trousers. "Now, you're going to do what I say, or you're gonna get seriously hurt. Capiche?"

"Daddy!" Lottie squealed, oblivious to the fact that nobody was around. "Help! Somebody!"

"Don't you dare!" the youth hissed, gesturing with the blade. "You know what happens to naughty girls who don't do what they're told..."

Hamish, the little Herdier, started to yap loudly at the man's Scrafty, building up to a Roar attack, but the Hoodlum Pokemon noticed it, and with a Drain Punch battered Hamish away, knocking him out in one.

The youth grinned happily. "There! Much better! Now are you gonna do what you're told?"

"I don't think she will."

The youth froze at the sound of the click and the speaker behind him, and turned his head slowly yet defiantly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Looker said, as Danny gestured with his gun; Looker still hadn't retrieved his after the Shadow dropped it off of the Game Freak building. "Detective Looker, International Police. Step away from the girl. That's Mayor Leeway's daughter, and if you harm a hair on her head you will kick up some serious..." He stopped himself from swearing in front of Lottie. "… mess in this city."

The youth laughing, a scraping, barking laugh. "Up yours, copper! I know she's the mayor's daughter, that's why I'm here! The ultimate prize, the ultimate bargaining chip to convince him to hand over his money!"

"I'm going to count to five before I order Detective Stamp to shoot," Looker replied bluntly.

The youth grabbed Lottie and pulled her close to him. "I'm going to count to three before you piss off, or she dies! Your choice! Scrafty, get them!"

The Hoodlum grinned savagely, cracking its knuckles and advancing on Danny and Looker, springing up suddenly into a High Jump Kick...

Everyone suddenly blurred. Looker rolled as the Scrafty dropped towards him, diving out of its path as the youth's knife blurred towards Danny, who had to dive to the floor out of the way. But while the Scrafty fell through the air, Croagunk skidded across the floor underneath it and shot forwards with a Poison Jab...

Looker grimaced as he landed and cut one of his palms on the pavement as the Scrafty yelped, ploughing on out of control to crash into the concrete and knock itself out. "Missed."

The youth wheezed and collapsed to the floor, Croagunk's Poison Jab to the groin hitting him hard, the knife he had thrown clattering to the floor in the distance to roll away and be picked up quickly by Danny. "Aagh shit!"

Looker turned and booted the falling youth in the chin, the impact knocking the hooligan out before he hit the deck, before he walked in, took Lottie's hand with his non-bleeding hand and led her away. "Danny, arrest this punk for assault, attempted murder, and…" He looked at the Scrafty's beaten form. "Oh I don't know, littering?"

Danny hauled the handcuffed youth to his feet, and smiled to himself as he looked up at the HQ doors. "Here come the cavalry..."

Sure enough the rest of the team came charging through the automatic doors, descending on Danny and helping him drag the unconscious criminal towards the cells. Bastian helped a staggering Forsyth to his feet, but for Looker the highlight was Mayor Leeway, who saw that his daughter was alright and charged towards her. "Lottie!"

"Daddy!" she screamed happily, throwing herself at him in a bear hug. "I was so scared!"

As father and daughter enjoyed their embrace, Looker's eyes met Aurelius', the overweight Commissioner breathing heavily from the long flights of stairs. "Glad you joined us, sir."

Aurelius waved him off. "We heard the commotion and were on our way down when we saw the knife get thrown. Are you and Detective Stamp...?"

Looker wrapped a piece of cloth around his bleeding palm. "We're both fine. But that pavement felt like landing on gravel."

Mayor Leeway prodded the Scrafty's body with his toe. "I'll consider repaving it. You sure did a good job there, though. Thank you, Looker- you are a true hero."

Alder smiled. "See, even if it isn't part of Team Plasma, Looker will hunt it down and bring it to justice."

Looker nodded. "Thank you, both of you. And on the subject of Plasma, pack your bags team. Ladies and gentlemen, Danny has located Bronius."

"What?!" Tash yelled. "No way! We didn't manage it with a computer!"

"Common sense works best," Danny said, returning outside with the rest of the team. "He's in the Chargestone Cave, where the interference played up with the phone call."

There was a collective 'Aah' as people worked it out, and Reece smiled. "That makes sense! What's the plan, Looker?"

"I'll discuss it on the way there," Looker said, graciously taking his suitcase of disguises and gadgets from Bastian. "Alder, are you in?"

The Champion nodded. "Of course! I wouldn't miss this for my title! But I'm afraid Grimsley and the others have already left. Someone has to hold the fort while I'm out."

"Understandable," the Commissioner said, as Looker started to walk off towards the Police cars parked outside the HQ with the rest of the team. "Good luck, Looker."

"Wait! Looker!"

Looker turned at the sound of the squeal to be nearly flattened by a charging Lottie, who wrapped herself around his legs in a hug. "Woah, Lottie! Hey!"

"Thank you, Mister Looker," she said, shyly, quietly. "You saved me..."

"All in a day's work," he replied, ruffling her hair, trying to ignore the sniggers behind him. He normally didn't like small children, and this was seriously affecting his reputation with the team, but there was something cute about Lottie that made him feel more happy and bouncy. "I'd best be going now!"

She jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck Looker! I'm rooting for you!"

"The Looker Fan Club," Robert said drily. "Oh dear."

Lottie beamed. "Yeah! The Looker Fan Club! I'll set that up for you Mister Looker! Go get them! Oh, and you too Croagunk!"

Looker shook his head in bemusement, and smiled at Robert's gracious, grateful, understated nod- doing a good deed and being thanked for it was a good feeling. "I wouldn't kiss him if I were you."

Reece grinned as the team started to get in the cars. "No, Croagunk excrete a lot of poison from their cheek sacs. Not the best idea."

"Well done for ruining the joke, Captain Obvious."

"Hey!"

Poking his head out of the window, Croagunk grinned, and blew little purple bubbles of poison from his cheeks, making Lottie giggle and hug her father's leg, smiling. "Gunk!"

Looker too grinned, despite himself; he had never seen the normally sarcastic, grouchy Croagunk be so happy with a small child. And he had never had such thanks for something so small before- maybe he should do more things like that. "Let's roll folks. Chargestone Cave, here we come!"

As Reece eased the car out of its space and set off, followed by the others, he looked in the mirror and smiled. "Your fan club is waving us off, boss. How cute..."

"Shut up and drive," Looker replied, but he was laughing too at the sight of the 8-year-old tottering after the car waving like mad. She soon disappeared from sight though, and Looker turned round in the passenger seat, facing forwards as Reece drove, settling back for the ride. Now it was time to get serious, now it was time to focus, to get back on the Team Plasma case. Because a meeting with Sage Bronius in the dark, crackling depths of the Chargestone Cave beckoned, and of all the things Looker had done so far in one day, he did not want to mess the crucial mission up. Sage Bronius was going down!

( *****)**

 **A/N: And that's that. Isn't Lottie cute? She's not my OC, I must say- she belongs to The Mocking J, one of my best friends on here who won a competition on the original version of this work to have an OC put into the story. If you haven't checked out her work before, all I can say is you're missing out. Go do it now- what are you waiting for?**

 **Next chapter- Finally, at long last, in the depths of the darkness of the Chargestone Cave... Sage Bronius!**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed! Feel free to leave a review or a favourite/follow to me or the fic- it makes my day to see anything!**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


	15. Charge

**A/N: Well here we are folks! It's ya boy, bringing you chapter 15- we're rattling through them now. And I'm writing some of the final ones now I have some time off uni- I'm so happy with them so far.**

 **Last chapter we saw some good old-fashioned crime fighting from Looker, but it has all been build-up my friends, for it's time for another epic showdown with a Sage. Let Looker vs Sage Bronius begin!**

 **I hope you enjoy…**

 **(***)**

The Unovan day had been long and tiring, and slowly the calm blue skies over Castelia started to glow with the evening sunset. The pure white sun that had watched over Looker's pursuit of the Shadow and his take-down of the petty crook had become an orange flare of light on the far horizon, its light absorbed by the few pale clouds that hung in the sky, giving them a golden tint that shone and illuminated a lot of the nearby world. Watching Unova pass by in this new light was fascinating and beautiful.

Looker reflected on this, sat quietly in the passenger seat of the Police car as Reece drove it across the region towards their destination. It had been less than a week since he had arrived in Unova, and already he was starting to feel like he knew the place. He liked it, a lot more than the other regions- somehow there was a buzz, a vibrancy about the region that made it seem more alive. Couple that with a fantastic team to work with on a pretty good case, and Looker was enjoying himself.

He smiled as the car passed over the Driftveil Drawbridge, the golden light of the sunset glimmering on the water as the eye could see. It hadn't been that long since he had been chasing Ryoku across this bridge, after it had been broken by the Plasma Sage, but that somehow seemed like an age away. The Royal Unova's form was clearly visible as it steamed down the channel, its wake shimmering in the light, and Looker remembered vividly how close he had come to being crushed by the cruise ship, as Tash's demented boat driving in pursuit of Ryoku brought them as close to death as Looker had ever been. Fun times.

At almost exactly the same time as Croagunk's, his stomach rumbled loudly, the only noises in the otherwise-silent vehicle, and he looked embarrassed. "Wow that was loud..."

Hilda grinned from the back seat, drumming her fingers on the window. "Way to break the silence, Looker."

"I wouldn't blame him to be honest," Reece said, his own stomach grumbling a little as he drove. "We haven't had any lunch, and our last meals were ages ago."

"Really?" Alder asked beside Hilda, an eyebrow arched in surprise. "Aurelius doesn't feed you?"

"We don't even have a canteen," Reece complained. "We have to go and get our own lunch from in the city, and even then we often don't have time."

"Well, look on the bright side folks," Looker said, delving into his bag, "I think I might have... yes, I do. Aha!"

Reece sighed happily as Looker pulled a package from the bag, the strong smell spreading throughout the car. "Ah, that smells so good..."

"You brought a packed lunch?" Hilda asked.

Looker smiled. "I always do. Everywhere I go, just in case. Today's special will be... I think it's meatball sandwiches. Croagunk?"

Croagunk nodded happily to confirm that fact, before passing the sandwiches around to everyone in the car, munching happily on them as Reece drove through the packed streets of Driftveil.

"Man, that's good," he said, wiping a streak of red tomato sauce from his cheek. "Thanks Looker!"

Looker smiled. "No problem. Glad you like them."

"Hmm... It appears the illustrious Detective's talents extend to sandwich making," Alder commented, finishing the sub off at unbelievable pace. "Is there anything you're not good at, Looker?"

Croagunk grinned evilly, writing down on a Post-It note the word 'Relationships' and passing it to the back, where Alder and Hilda laughed.

"Thanks Croagunk," Looker said, shaking his head. "No, there are a lot of things I'm not very good at, Alder." His face lost its positive tone for a little while, and he looked a little weary; he'd been so caught up by the work with Team Plasma that he realised he hadn't mentioned it, and now was probably the right time to do so. "My job used to be one of them..."

"I'm sorry?" Alder asked politely, his head tilted to one side, intrigued. "What do you mean, Looker?"

"Exactly what I said. The Looker you see now is not at all like the Looker of the past."

"Well, yeah," Reece reasoned. "Everyone is bad as a Police rookie, fresh out of the Academy. I'm ten times better now than I was… Don't say anything, Hilda. I expect it from Cheren, not you."

"I meant after the Academy," Looker said pensively, as Hilda bit her tongue. "I meant during Galactic."

"Wait, what?" Hilda asked, looking very confused.

"I haven't heard anything about this from Cynthia," Alder said. "In fact, all I've heard about you from other regions are glowing references of an incredibly talented and successful Detective."

"That's because they remember the improved Looker." Looker sighed. "Croagunk, shall I just stop beating round the bush and tell them straight and honestly?"

Croagunk paused solemnly, before slowly nodding. "Croa..."

"Okay. Well, when Croagunk and I left Police Academy, we did a few ordinary cases, nothing special. We got lucky on a couple of weird cases though, murder-mystery sort of cases, the kind that you'd read in a Sherlock Holmes book where everything is so complex and intricate. After those cases, Inspector LaDieux believed I was ready for the big time, and, brimming with confidence that I could do it on my own, I accepted my first truly big case... The Team Galactic case."

"We all know how that one went, though..." Reece said, looking worried.

Looker shook his head. "Not originally you don't. Originally I underestimated Galactic, and overestimated my own ability after my success. I failed at stealth missions and blew my cover to two twelve-year-olds from Twinleaf Town, I failed to stop Galactic taking over the Valley Windworks, and owe the two Trainers for kicking them out. I only managed to stop the weakest Grunts on small theft missions, and I remained one step behind them at every interval."

"Really?" Alder asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's true. I never stood a chance taking down the Commanders, and had to leave that to the Twinleaf Trainers again. I would stumble into battle with Galactic and fail by underestimating them, and would fail to truly stop them by making stupid mistakes. To make things worse, the gadgets I was sent by the Police were shoddy at the time, often breaking at the vital point- I never used the jetpack after I crashed it into Jubilife TV station. And even if they worked I was too reckless to read the instruction manual and didn't use them properly."

"So... the old you was..." Hilda began.

"A poor Detective. Reckless, impulsive, brash, overconfident and a terrible planner. I rushed into everything, and it rarely worked. My relationship with Croagunk was tested to its very limits, as nothing seemed to go right. I don't blame him for getting pissy with me." As Croagunk nodded, Looker steeled himself. "And then we got our wake up call. We were too late to stop Team Galactic... from detonating the Galactic Bombs."

There was a stunned silence in the Lincoln as it left Driftveil.

"You mean…" Reece breathed, finally.

Looker nodded, not looking at anyone in the car. "Eighty Pokemon died in the Great Marsh, and around twenty Magikarp died at Lake Valor. All because we didn't act in time. We didn't see it coming, and we got completely played, and one hundred Pokemon died because we didn't find out about that horrible plan until too late." Then Looker looked angry and determined, a semi-growl emerging in his voice. "But they did one thing with that bomb that they would regret..."

"Go on..." Hilda said.

Looker turned to her, the sunset light throwing dark and angry shadows beneath his eyes that burned with an intense fire. "They shook me to my senses. I was beside myself for letting it happen, and I changed. The night of the bomb blasts, old Looker died, replaced by new Looker. I planned, I prepared myself, and I was hungry for revenge. I fixed the gadgets and perfected the disguises, I trained up myself and Croagunk, and we got our heads back in the game."

"So then what happened?" Alder asked.

"So I infiltrated their HQ, discovered their masterplan, and took action. Galactic were hunted down, defeated on Spear Pillar. But that wasn't the end for me. Then I went alone, without any support, and discovered Charon's secret plan, to raise Heatran and level Sinnoh. I used ingenuity and disguises, discovered what I was best at, and combined with Croagunk's increased strength we finally won. New Looker had triumphed at last, completing a mission that old Looker would have failed direly at, saving not just a region but a world from both Galactic and himself." Looker paused and smiled at last. "It really feels good to say that..."

"I bet it does," said Alder thoughtfully. "I find it hard to believe though that the ace Detective sat in front of me, the man who has already saved one region and is saving another, used to be... well, so different."

"Gunk," Croagunk said sagely, solemnly.

"We all have our dark days," Looker replied, semi-translating Croagunk. "But some days are darker than others..."

"Don't blame yourself for the Galactic Bomb," Reece urged. "You can't beat everyone all the time."

"Oh, I'm not kidding anyone. I fully blame myself. But I'm moving on from it, putting it behind me, trying to do as much good as I can to balance out my failures. I've learned so much from it and can play to my strengths. I'll never stop looking back, but I won't let it define me- it's changed me for the better."

"A commendable attitude," Alder mused. "And from what I've seen, new Looker is certainly doing a lot of good against Team Plasma. They don't know what's hit them."

"Yeah! They can't cope with you," Hilda chimed in. "The best Trainers in Unova struggled to beat Plasma in one last epic battle, but now you're ripping through their ranks!"

Looker smiled. "They're certainly easier to deal with than Team Galactic, let me tell you that. I don't know whether my own improvements have changed that, but the battles with the Sages are much shorter than the battles with Galactic Commanders, and they appear to be easier to track down and arrest. The only difficulties were the Triad, who we had a stroke of luck with, Ghetsis, who we had already arrested, and the Plan. And I don't think their Plan is all that good; even if we don't know what it is yet I am confident they won't get to put it into action."

"You are very confident in our success, Looker," Alder noted, Croagunk nodding beside him, smiling at his partner's change of mood."

"Well, it certainly helps to have a lot more experience- Croagunk is stronger, and I know how to deal with a criminal mind much better than I did before. Plus there's the fact that I'm taking every step to get this right, not allowing anything to get in the way, AND there's the fact that I have a supremely brilliant team to back me up, one of the best working teams I've seen. I'm lucky."

"Stop it, you're making me blush," Reece joked. "But seriously, thank you Looker. Despite what may have happened to you, it's an honour and a privilege."

"No problem!"

"Hmm... Reece, why did the others just turn down a road to the left?" Alder asked evenly, peering out of the back window. "When we appear to still be heading to Mistaltron..."

Reece looked sheepish as he spun the wheel around, pulling a U-turn. "My bad! Should have kept my eyes on the road!"

"What was that about supremely brilliant, Looker?" Hilda asked, grinning.

Looker rolled his eyes in mock exasperation, able to joke again having gotten his worries off his chest. "Most of the time."

With Reece's mistake finally rectified, the car swung around the corner and eased to a halt beside the other car, the occupants sniggering at Reece's misfortune. As Hilda, Reece and Alder got out to join Tash and Bastian, Looker slowly climbed out, he and Croagunk the last to exit the vehicle, before looking at the gaping mouth of the cave that beckoned, the last hiding place of Sage Bronius... The Chargestone Cave. Even from outside the dark hole, stood on the dusty ground beside a huge boulder, you could feel a faint buzz in the air, a barely-audible whining crackle of static that your ears just about picked up at the very edge of hearing.

"This place is weird," Tash said, shaking her head. "I've never actually been here before, but the amount of electrical energy here is astonishing. It makes the rocks float!"

"Mount Coronet was like this," Looker replied, not looking at her. "It might not have had floating rocks, but Coronet's magnetic fields are so strong that Magneton and Nosepass can evolve there. It plays havoc with everything. Electrical equipment, hair..."

"And that daft old man Sage Bronius has decided to hide in it," Reece said, sighing. "So we have to go in there..."

Looker nodded. "Two of you, Bastian, Reece, cover the main exit. Make sure he doesn't get past- one of you should stay here and spread out across the Route, in case he makes it through."

"What about the rest of us?" Hilda asked. "What's the plan?"

"The rest of you, cover me. Disperse and take up positions throughout the Cave. When we get to Bronius I have a plan, but you need to be ready for when the worst comes to the worst. Okay?"

"Got it," Tash answered, sticking her thumbs up. "I take it we're not going to use the tried-and-tested frontal assault tactic?"

"No. We have an even better advantage- surprise..."

 **(***)**

Deep within the Chargestone Cave, the huge, wild and untamed electrical currents that were generated naturally surged and sizzled through the air, bolts of static earthing themselves on the rocks that floated in midair, suspended by strong magnetic fields. Only the hardiest (or dumbest, depending on your outlook) of Pokemon lived in such a treacherous environment, but past a large Galvantula web to the back there appeared to be an oasis of calm amidst the magnetic storm, and the new occupants of the Cave had put this to good use...

Sage Heinrich Bronius fiddled with the keyboard of a large laptop that was surviving in the small space where there was no current to affect it, deeply engrossed in what was on the screen. Beside him one Plasma Grunt stood resolutely on guard, watching out over the empty cavern, while another Grunt busied herself with a couple of tasks, going between unplugging wires and tapping away at another laptop keyboard beside Bronius. Nobody talked as they did this, no gossip, no idle chitchat; they would do their work efficiently and effectively, the only slight distraction being the cordless telephone that sat beside Bronius on a stationary boulder, the telephone that connected him to his company.

Under the blue glow of the floating stones, the male Grunt on guard duty frowned, suspicion visible in his piggy little eyes. "Something moved over there, sir."

"Ignore it," Bronius said in his thick German accent, his large Bavarian moustache quivering as he spoke precisely. "A trivial distraction. We have nearly completed the final steps of the Plan. Soon we will be out of here."

"But sir," the Grunt reasoned, "if one of those damn Galvantula spring a web on us, or if something tries to break our equipment while we finish off, we are finished. All of our work for nothing..."

Bronius sighed irritably. "Fine! Gott und Himmel! Go and check what is going on! But be quick!" He glanced up at the female Grunt. "You too! Don't worry, I shall finish whatever it is you are doing myself."

The Grunts looked up at each other and after a quick pause nodded, getting up and walking away from Bronius towards the Galvantula web in the distance, stepping over a smashable rock as they did. They had had enough trouble as it was with the native Pokemon, who objected to the humans invading their home in often violent ways, and it was getting annoying having to continue fixing the equipment. They would never finish their part of the Plan this way...

Bronius huffed and settled back down typing for a few moments, before finishing his work. He nodded to himself in satisfaction, saving, sending, and closing down the documents/emails, but as he turned the laptop off with a click and went to shut the lid he heard a scuffle off in the distance, the frantic and rapid scraping of feet on the rocky floor. Oddly however he didn't hear any cries from the two Grunts as they fought off the native Pokemon with their own Pokemon. Surely, he realised with mounting suspicion, they would be directing their Pokemon with verbal orders? "Dieter? Geli?"

"They won't be answering you. Not while unconscious, anyway."

As soon as the first word from the mysterious voice came cutting through the charged silence like a saw, Bronius whipped around with surprising agility, one hand already on his belt. But as the Sage grasped one Pokeball, the smashable rock that the Grunts had stepped over sprang into life, leaping up from the floor and charging towards him to steal the rest of his Pokeballs with a yank. Trying to defend himself from the marauding rock, Bronius stumbled backwards, but it was too late; in a flash, all but one of his Pokemon had been stolen.

He paused in the half-darkness, lit only by the blue glow of the floating stones. "I knew something was not right when I saw that damn rock."

There was a light laugh. "It's too bad you didn't do something. Croagunk is a master of disguise, and he beat you."

Bronius smiled humourlessly. "Then you are Looker. What a pleasant surprise. Especially surprising that you tracked me down here..."

"It wasn't hard. When you answered the company phone call to Bruce Dance, it made things a lot easier."

"What?" Bronius asked, stunned. "You were Dance? Well I am impressed, mein Freund. Superbly resourceful to trace my call like that, especially with the static."

"That made it easier."

Bronius shifted uneasily. "Where are you, Looker? I would prefer to speak to my nemesis face to face, as it were."

Slowly, about ten metres across the cavern from the German, one of the boulders started to unfurl, and Bronius realised that a) that particular boulder didn't glow itself, merely reflecting the light of the others, and b) that particular boulder hadn't been there last time he had looked. Slowly the fabric started to unfurl, legs and arms developing, before one man stepped out of the fabric bulk of the costume to stand beneath a pulsing rock, his jacket illuminated in the blue light...

Looker nodded, as Croagunk hopped up onto his shoulder and handed him the Sage's stolen Pokemon. "Good day, Sage Bronius. Champion Alder, if you would be so good as to take these Pokeballs off me to free my hands up..."

"Alder?" Bronius asked, stunned, before looking anxious and worried as the Champion stepped out from behind a rock pillar to take the Pokeballs off of Looker silently. "Scheiße."

Looker smiled, noting how Bronius' grip tightened on his solitary Pokeball through anxiety. "That's what I thought. Now then..." Croagunk handed something down to him, and he pointed it at Bronius. "The odds are highly stacked against you here, Bronius. One Pokemon against an entire Police force, you have no chance to escape, and now I'm pointing this at you. Surrender now, or I will knock you out with it. It's that simple."

Bronius rolled his eyes. "Mein Freund, that is a tin can. That is one of the most pathetic weapons I have ever seen. I wouldn't mind threats at gunpoint, but this? You couldn't knock a Caterpie out with that!"

"Fine," Looker said evenly. "If you don't want to surrender, if you want me to actually use this highly-specialised Police device, fine. I warned you."

"Wait a moment, what..." Bronius began, but it was too late. Looker pulled the trigger...

"Nothing. See, I told you," Bronius complained, "do it properly or not at all."

Looker shook his head, slamming his hand against the side of the device. "I guess I never used this after Sinnoh because it didn't work."

"I did wonder what the point of using the device was when Tash suggested it," Alder pointed out, evenly. "But no matter."

Bronius' face didn't twitch into the slightest smile. "I wonder sometimes about the safety of our region in the hands of the so-called 'good guys'..." He paused to throw his Pokeball. "But I guess that doesn't matter, fur mich..."

"Sorry Alder," Looker apologised, as a Rhyperior erupted out into the midst of the cave with a bellow that echoed throughout the underground.

The Champion pushed him away, handing Looker back the gadget and grasping for his own Pokeball. "Don't worry! This Sage is mine, Looker! Accelgor, wipe him out!"

Alder's Bug-type ninja-like Pokemon emerged on the field in a blur, its incredible speed allowing it to run rings around the bulky Rhyperior. Suddenly though the Rhyperior lunged forward, a huge fist powering forward to slam a Hammer Arm into Alder's Pokemon with incredible force, almost squashing the Bug-type. If not for Accelgor's sheer speed it would have been crushed- as it was, it was severely damaged.

As the battle flared up suddenly, Looker found himself cursing his bad luck. He'd been too lax, and now Alder had been dragged into a battle with a formidable foe who was not only matching but out-doing the region's Champion. He needed to stop Bronius... And then it came to him.

"Hilda, close the exits! Croagunk, support Alder and get that Rhyperior down! Tash, cover me!"

Looker set off at a run across the cavern, but his path was treacherous and he had to be superbly alert. Not only were attacks flying around in an enclosed space, but with every move the brute Rhyperior made the floor shook violently, nearly sending Looker lurching into the floating charged stones whose currents would kill if he touched them. The bottleneck cave, seemingly an ideal place to corner Bronius, had become a death trap.

Somehow it appeared to Looker that every Sage of Team Plasma had a brute Pokemon on their team, an impossibly strong ace that could absorb almost anything. Zinzolin had Drapion, Gorm had had Cloyster, and now Bronius had a monster Rhyperior that moved ten times as fast as any Rhyperior he'd seen. Mixing deadly Ground-type vibrations with powerful physical moves and its own projectiles, somehow it had already taken down Reshiram with a stunningly strong Rock Wrecker, along with Reece's Porygon-Z that had chosen the wrong moment to join the fray. Not only that, but it seemed to be able to shake off almost every super-effective attack launched at it. It was monstrous.

Looker dodged a wayward Energy Ball from Accelgor, the original attacker of Rhyperior, as he neared his destination. Bronius was fixed on the battle, a smile on his lips as without orders his Pokemon took everything the Police had to offer before striking back. He hadn't noticed Looker sneak away from the group, but he would do; Looker's time was running out. He had to act, now!

Grabbing the failed projectile gadget from the floor, he slipped as he tried to pick it up and nearly fatally faceplanted one of the charged rocks littered around the place. As an errant bolt of static zapped him and sent his fringe into a spasm, he glared at a sniggering wild Galvantula, seemingly unharmed as it wove its web between two of the rocks, before slamming the side of the device. "Please, please, I beg of you, work..."

On hearing a click from the gadget in his hand, he started to dash forward, but even despite the tremors and speed his arm remained steady, his aim fixed as he clicked the trigger. "Hey Bronius!"

Shocked at the sound of Looker's voice behind him, the Sage wheeled frantically, his Rhyperior too absorbed in pummelling Accelgor into a wall with a Poison Jab to care. "Looker!"

Then it worked. Then the delayed reaction kicked in, and sent the heavy boxing glove shooting out of the gadget at long last, bound for the correct destination at an awesome velocity. This little weapon of Looker's was designed by the Police not as a comic interlude, but as a low-budget, spring-loaded replacement for a stun gun that didn't require hours of recharge after firing. Bronius was hit square between the eyes by the glove within it, the forceful impact sending him reeling, his eyes glazing over a little as he stumbled; you could practically see the stars spinning around his head.

But Looker wasn't done. As the glove hit home he continued charging, running straight at Bronius and diving at the Sage in a flying tackle any rugby player would be proud of. The Sage was taken off-guard, and he toppled with Looker, collapsing at the knees until his head hit home hard on the stony floor, his eyes glazing over for real this time.

Just to be sure, Looker pulled his fist back to punch him, before realising that it wouldn't make a difference. He pulled handcuffs out of his jacket pocket, still frayed from fighting the Shadow earlier that morning, and after securing Bronius pulled the man to his feet.

"And I think that's a takedown," he announced to nobody in particular, wiping his hand on his jacket where some blood from a gash on Bronius' head had gathered. "Mission successful, team." He looked up...

Into the growling face of a very pissed-off Rhyperior. "Oh no."

"Rhy PER!" The angry Pokemon yelled, furious at the injuries to its master, before it drew an arm back for another stunning Hammer Arm to crush its enemy...

A blur blasted past Looker though and before Rhyperior could begin its swing down, Croagunk launched up to hit the Drill Pokemon with a Rock Smash to the face, just below its impressive horn. Rhyperior's response was to bellow like an oncoming freight train, before the Hammer Arm intended for Looker smashed into Croagunk with supreme force, sending him spinning through the air across the cave into one of the blue glowing rocks.

"CROAGUNK!" Looker yelled frantically, panicking at the sight of his best friend and partner jerking in spasms as vicious currents of electricity surged their way through him. It was one of the duller rocks in the area, and probably wasn't lethal, but even so an obscene amount of energy was ripping into his partner, and he was helpless to stop it, as Rhyperior grinned savagely...

But Croagunk stopped, suddenly. No more did his body shake. Instead, still glued to the rock, he put his finger to his lips and shushed Looker, as he started to smile unnervingly at the Rhyperior, and as an orange aura started to coalesce around him...

"Croa... GGGGGGGGGUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNKKKK KKK!"

Looker's mouth dropped open in awe as Croagunk's Revenge attack flew through the air, fearfully strong waves of Fighting-type energy smashing into Rhyperior, even cracking the armour of the Drill Pokemon. By allowing himself to be damaged by the currents, Croagunk had built up more and more power until he unleashed an unstoppable wave of energy against Bronius' Pokenon, and that wasn't the best bit- the best bit was that as the KOed Rhyperior collapsed to the floor in a long, slow descent with a heavy tremor, Croagunk grinned, and bit down on a Sitrus Berry hidden in his cheek, restoring his health a little. Even with low amounts of health left, Croagunk had survived, learning from his mistake fighting Gorm to keep himself healthy. And Croagunk had won!

"Well, Looker," Alder said, holding one of Tash's tissues to his nose as he came over to stand beside him, looking down at the Rhyperior, "how strong is your Croagunk?"

Croagunk smiled weakly. "Croa..."

"Thankfully, strong enough," Looker replied. "Although that's twice now he's performed a risky move that could have killed himself to help us win. I would prefer it if he didn't do that in future, and if we didn't risk lives..."

"And if the Sages actually didn't try to fight us," Tash said, hauling Bronius to his feet. "One who gave up or ran away would be nice. New, certainly."

"One who didn't have a ridiculously strong brute Pokemon on their team would also be good," Hilda added, as the arriving Reece poked the massive form of the Ground/Rock type with a foot. "What're we going to do with him?"

"I vote leave him here," Tash said viciously, as Hilda applied a Revive to Reshiram in the background. "He nearly beat us, and I think the Pokemon in here are itching to get at him and Bronius for invading their home."

Looker clicked the Pokeball in Bronius' hand as a response, returning Rhyperior. "Whether you like it or not, we can't do that, as much as I want to. He's evidence, and I won't hear the end of it from Aurelius if we leave evidence to be hung up in a web and eaten by Galvantula."

"Ah, never mind, Tash," Reece said, grinning. "We've won! We've beaten Sage Bronius."

Looker smiled too as the group neared the exit to the cave, the full moon now clearly visible in a now-night sky that shone with hopeful and bright stars. "Too right, Reece. Four Sages down! Rood and Giallo had better watch out, because we are coming for them!"

 **(***)**

 **A/N: And there we have it. That Croagunk is very good at improvising, isn't he?**

 **Next chapter- saying goodbye? Perhaps. Talking to Aurelius? Yes. Mysterious phone calls? Of course. And saying hello to another Sage... well let's just wait and see, shall we?**

 **Thanks for reading folks! Reviews are always appreciated (so long as they ain't flames), and follows/favourites of me or The Chase never fail to make me smile.**

 **Until next time, ya boy out.**


	16. The Art of Conversation

**A/N: I'm back at last. Ya boy triumphantly returns with chapter 16 of The Chase!**

 **Looker is very much on a roll with these Sages- it's almost as if it's too easy for him, y'know. I wonder what Plasma think, with four Sages down?**

 **Enjoy!**

Somewhere in Unova, a phone rang...

"Yes?" came the clipped, precise, almost too perfect voice, in an emotionless tone.

"It's me."

There was a pause. "What are you doing, calling me? Only Bronius is supposed to call me. That's the Plan, remember?"

"Sage Bronius was arrested last night in the Chargestone Cave by Detective Looker, taken out in a surprise ambush attack."

There was an even lengthier pause. "So we are the last two Sages left?"

"Indeed, it would appear that way."

"… He is very good at his job."

"I know. You said he would be easier to predict than this."

"It's a temporary nuisance," came the calm reply. "Yes, it is unfortunate that Bronius has been taken captive- he was, after all, our field director, and his organisation from the Cave will be missed. But everything is still in place, and Looker is still mostly as we believed him to be. Most importantly, the Plan has not been disturbed."

"And yet still, I must question why I am the one who remains free and at large..." The voice faded, to come back almost instantly, only this time the falsified precise tone had evaporated, replaced by a rich Italian accent cracked with stress. "It does not make sense!"

"Calm yourself, brother," the other voice reassured him. "You are, after all, our strongest in a battle- Looker would have had to leave you and I until the end. It's just how he works."

"Si, but..."

The outburst was cut off however, and it was clear there was a testiness beneath the surface of the precise voice. "AND ALSO, don't forget that ultimately the order in which he completes his mission does not matter to us, now that everyone has achieved what they set out to do."

"... Si..." You could almost hear the head hang in embarrassed shame.

"What matters is that there are now only two of us Sages left. And two stages left for our Plan..." The speaker made a little noise, as if clicking his tongue. "It's… nearly time."

"And you say Looker has no idea?"

"None at all."

"And of course, Looker will have had his ideas further twisted by the emergence of certain... evidence, shall we say? I have heard about Ryoku's blueprints. I assume you released those from your possession to further confuse him?"

There was a heavy pause. "… Yes. To confuse him. Of course."

"Si! Anyway..." The precise edge returned. "So what is the plan now? Obviously you will remain at large until the end, my friend..."

"Indeed, it is necessary for me to be last to…" Pause. "... play my role. It is time then for your last stand, my friend." There was cough. "I trust you have a plan?"

"I am… playing my role." The caller paused this time. "I am setting the trail to expose the investigation… as instructed."

The uneasiness in the voices of both led to a moment of silence, as both of the callers wondered whether the other one was telling the full truth as to how willingly they were cooperating with the Plan. It seemed… strange.

"Keep yourself safe," the receiver of the call said, unsure where his words were coming from. "And do what you think you have to."

The caller paused. "I guess I can make that work for me. I shall see you on the other side, my friend. Whatever may be."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Concentrate on your mission, and get it done… for your sake."

"Long live Team Plasma."

"Long may we reign..." The phone clicked off, for the last time...

 **(***)**

Castelia had descended into the epitome of dullness. The new day had brought absolutely nothing to the city in the form of weather- no sun, no sleet, no storm, no heat, nothing. The grey clouds had simply bubbled up and formed a protective cocoon around the metropolis, boredom enveloping each and every one of the city's inhabitants. It just had the feeling of one of those days that would drag on and on and on, endless, the people willing their clocks forward to get this day finished and out of the way.

Looker however wasn't one of those people. When the days grew weary and monotonous for most, and when seconds seemed to pass with the speed of treacle, Looker used the time. Every second was crucial, valuable time, vital to helping himself and the team. And today was no exception...

He drummed his fingers on the table in the interviewing room as if trying to think, his lips moving silently for a few moments as he pieced something together. Then, as Croagunk sighed, and as the rest of the team, scattered around the room and leaning on the walls, started to fidget a little, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and assuming a thoughtful pose, the thumb of his left hand touching his right cheek and the index finger stroking his chin as his other fingers tucked beneath his chin...

Sat imperiously and haughtily across from Looker on the other side of the table, tapping his foot impatiently, Ghetsis Harmonia looked irritated, his red eyes emanating an annoyed air as he drew himself up to his full height. "Well? Will that be all, Looker? Have you wasted your time enough now?"

Hilda shifted a little as she leant against the wall. "He's still thinking, processing what you've said. Or haven't said, as the case may be..."

"I think that's more likely," Danny, loitering in the corner and almost blending into the shadows due to his black suit, said sourly. "You haven't really told us anything, have you Ghetsis?"

"How can we fill in the gaps like this?" Reece asked aloud, from the door as if complaining.

As Ghetsis shrugged indifferently Looker finally leaned forward to speak. "Sometimes silence speaks for itself Reece."

Ghetsis rolled his eyes. "At last, the great detective speaks. Tell me then, Looker, what are you thinking?"

"I'm wondering how we can get this investigation to go anywhere. Since we brought him in last night Bronius has remained in a silent sulk that rivalled Zinzolin's when we dented his pride. He refuses to tell us anything as to what he was doing."

"As you would," Alder said evenly, sipping a mug of tea in the corner. "I wouldn't expect a criminal to answer questions."

Looker nodded. "Regardless, as much as I regret it I have had to come to you to talk, Ghetsis. To try to piece a few things together about Bronius and perhaps even about the other Sages. And all you've told us is that Bronius used to be good friends with our Commissioner Aurelius when the two went to school together..."

"Peer support," Ghetsis said, nodding. "Bronius looked out for the younger kid, helping him with homework and bullies and such. Imagine, therefore, the shock of your Commissioner when he led the raid on our secret hideout in this very city, to discover that his noble friend, a world-famous businessman, had become a leader of a strong criminal organisation."

"That is exactly what you said. And yet I don't see how that gossip helps us in the slightest," Reece said, with a hint of frustration to his voice.

"It does not. It is, after all, completely irrelevant."

"But-"

Ghetsis held up a hand imperiously. "You asked me to tell you about Bronius. And I did. Whether it was relevant or not was not stipulated."

"He obviously prefers the direct approach of questioning," Tash commented drily, Croagunk nodding in agreement.

Looker nodded. "Fine. What exactly was Bronius' responsibility within the organisation of Team Plasma?"

Ghetsis clapped sarcastically. "At last, a decent question to answer, getting straight to the point. Bronius is very clever, and a man capable of balancing a large number of commitments all at once, so we added to those and made him a 'Field Director'. It was his job to supervise operations of all Sages. If anything went wrong, he sent in intervention, and reported to me on the success of the others' operations. He was also in charge of directing the Grunts that we have, and casts an eye over every piece of administrative work that we have."

Looker arched an eyebrow at Ghetsis actually being open. "An important character then, in the story of Team Plasma?"

"Very." Ghetsis smiled humourlessly. "See, an answer to a question. Ask me directly and you might succeed a little more."

"Time to ask the big questions then!" Reece said, determinedly. "What is Team Plasma's great Plan then, the Plan that all the Sages seem to be aware of, the Plan that we haven't asked you about yet?"

The soulless smile remained on Ghetsis' face but his eyes became a little glassy for a moment. "..."

"He has a point Looker," Alder said smoothly. "We haven't asked him anything about that Plan yet. Reece's suggestion of question is..."

"A silly one!"

Croagunk glared at Ghetsis, who glowered back sullenly. "Croa..."

Looker however smiled cheerfully. "Was that you snapping, Ghetsis? Did you lose your cool for a second? I must say, I'm surprised at you. Somebody knows more about it than they've put on before, don't they?"

Ghetsis tutted. "Preposterous. First of all, you hear one rumour from a loose-tongued Zinzolin and take it as the gospel truth. Second of all, you assume I know what this master plan my Sages have supposedly created is; sometimes, we compartmentalise as a team, and it is perfectly acceptable for me to not know full details."

"I find that hard to believe, given your level of control," Tash said, frowning.

Ghetsis ignored her. "Thirdly, you assume if I did know what the Plan was, that I would tell you it. And finally, having heard some stab-in-the-dark suggestions as to what it might be, I must say if there is a plan, you'll never get it in a hundred years."

"...!" Reece looked shocked. "How does he know what we think?"

Having seemed to have been in a slumber for most of the questioning (in reality he was actually quite a quiet, shy person, despite his gruff exterior), the great hulk of Bastian lurched upright. "Huh? That? Oh, I told him. Ran a few ideas past him, to see if I could get a reaction. Nothin' yet."

Ghetsis rolled his piercing red eyes. "I must say, I was slightly amused by some of them. There's got to be some gains, some profits, to any plan of ours, after all."

Looker shook his head, all the while noting that Danny had written the word 'profits' on his notepad and circled it. "Well, you know, despite all our previous guesses, I think we're pretty certain about this theory."

"You have another theory?" Ghetsis asked sardonically. "Go on, enlighten me."

Looker nodded, and passed a sheet of paper across the table to an uninterested Ghetsis. "Here. You may be familiar with these blueprints. They are for a machine designed by the late scientist Colress Achroma that converts energy of Pokemon attacks into electrical energy."

Ghetsis waved a hand dismissively, suddenly starting to look very angry as he drew up his robes. "Bah! You're grasping at straws Looker, a desperate man, and I can tell it. You don't know anything about the Plan at all, or else you wouldn't be bringing up blueprints from a long-dead scientist's doomed project."

"I'm not so sure."

"I beg your pardon?"

Looker ignored him. "If you look closely, Ghetsis, you would see how this is relevant. These may be Colress' designs, but they were found in Ryoku's work desk... bearing the Team Plasma crest!"

Ghetsis took a deep breath. "Yes? So what? What relevance does this machine have to us?"

"I'm going to come to that," Alder replied calmly. "After all, this is my theory... And no doubt you are familiar with the machine built in your Castle, the machine that when activated would have released every PC-stored Pokemon in Unova, the machine that was never activated?"

"Of course. That is, after all, my machine."

Looker nodded. "You've worked it out then? The PC machine was never activated partly due to your defeat at the hands of Hilda over there, but in any case Alder's provided us with evidence that on the day Plasma's castle rose, the power supply to the machine failed."

"And thus," Alder said, "we come to the conclusion that you are reconstructing the energy machine in order to power your theft of every Pokemon in Unova, and that your Sages are doing it for you."

There was a lengthy pause. Croagunk used it to attempt to light up a cigarette.

Ghetsis smirked. "Close..." He pinched the cigarette, the tip glowing in his red eyes. "But no cigar. Although I must say if it weren't for the flaws, I would like that as a plan."

"Flaws?" Hilda asked uneasily.

Ghetsis nodded triumphantly, taking a puff on the cigarette. "Why would these blueprints be in a desk drawer for Ryoku, and not on myself? Failing that, why wouldn't they be in the possession of my field director Bronius, who would be directing the amendments to this machine? Why would the Sages constructing this infernal engine not hold the designs themselves?"

"Enlighten me," Looker echoed, thoughtful and distant.

"Because we found a flaw with them, the flaw that led to the downfall of Colress... a fatal, unreversable design flaw that will not be overcome. One might call it an explosive design flaw."

"You're kidding..." Reece said.

"I'm serious. The machine cannot safely store up energy- above a certain low energy level, it explodes. And if a genius scientist couldn't fix that, and died before he could, how can we? I don't think that plan would work for us, Looker."

Looker stacked his papers neatly, before beckoning at the door, the wizened old Sergeant Forsyth hobbling in ready to escort Ghetsis back to his cell. "Never mind. The machine notwithstanding, we are making serious progress with this investigation. It is only a matter of time." He looked up to stare at Ghetsis, his face determined "And I promise you Ghetsis, no matter what this 'Plan' of yours is, I will not allow Team Plasma to execute it and harm even more. Because we will hunt down and arrest the last Sages, bring you to justice and remove the threat of your shameful organisation forever."

Ghetsis' head tilted up until his gaze appear to coolly meet Looker's, but only to Looker was the deep passion and fire in those eyes visible. "I look forward to hearing how you get on with that, Looker. Good day."

As Bastian and Forsyth led the Plasma leader out of the interviewing room, the team remained silent, reflecting on how the questioning had gone until the door slid shut...

Croagunk's frustrated Poison Jab hit the wall at the exact same time as Reece's punch.

"Dammit!"

"GUNK CROA!"

Looker sighed deeply, one of the few who had somehow managed to keep his composure completely. "Close one, team..."

"Indeed. At least we got him to answer a question properly, at last," Alder added, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"I was sure that was going to it!" Tash complained. "I really thought that was their Plan, revealed at long last..."

"It's never that easy," Danny replied bitterly. "I'm frankly amazed Looker's remained so calm."

"Plenty of practice at it," Looker said simply. "I noticed you write the word 'profits' on your pad, Danny?"

The junior Detective nodded. "It made me think, Looker. I'll get back to looking at the whole paperweight situation, but I need to have a proper check of the finances of their businesses. Check for unusual activity, try and establish patterns."

"I agree with that," Looker replied. "Obviously I don't need you to fully audit, but context would be appreciated."

"And as for the rest of us," Hilda said, as Danny saluted and left the team in the lobby, "we should get back to tracking down Sages. We only have two left to get now..."

"Actually, if we play our cards right now and have a successful day, we have only one Sage left."

Looker turned at the sound of Aurelius' voice, slightly puffing as he left the elevator clutching some printed-out documents. "Commissioner, where have you been? I wanted you in interview with us."

"Busy," came the reply, as the Commissioner got his breath back. "While you talked to Ghetsis, and since Detective Stamp wasn't looking I thought someone should man the fort, as it were, and keep an eye out for anything interesting. And while you were talking to Ghetsis, I made a little breakthrough."

The mood of the assorted team members suddenly went from sullen to optimistic within a heartbeat.

"You have?" Tash asked, a faint smile on her face; Looker had never seen her look impressed with the Commissioner before.

Aurelius nodded. "Purchases, buying and selling from credit cards, bank transfers, all centred around a house, a villa in Undella Town. What's so special about the property in question however is not only that it was sold by one of Zinzolin's property companies, but also that as of a day ago, it is now registered to one Alessandro Giallo."

"Sage Giallo..." Reece grinned like a Sharpedo. "We have him at last..."

Hilda however frowned. "That's a bit lax for a fugitive criminal. How can we be sure it isn't a trap?"

"We can't," Aurelius replied simply. "But whatever this trail is, Giallo lies at the end of it. This camera shot," a printed photograph was handed to Looker in a sweaty palm, "was taken in the Pokemon Centre, and the PC webcam registered another facial match," another photo went to Tash, "on Giallo. Plus, satellite images show in the last two days that some sort of red car has parked itself at the property, and hasn't left Undella; the registration can be traced to Giallo. It is him. He is in Undella."

"Then we go to Undella," Looker murmured, before turning and raising his voice. "You heard him team. We head to Undella Town! I know that this could be a trap- there could still be the possibility that Giallo wants us to come to him, or that he has thrown out a red herring and isn't actually there. But we must investigate this lead."

Tash nodded, jumping in. "Be wary people. Giallo is by far and away the strongest of the Sages in Pokemon battle; he was the man predicted to become Johto League Champion before the movement for independent leagues collapsed. He is a tough customer, so be prepared. Let's hit him hard, and with surprise!"

Looker turned to the Commissioner. "Thank you, sir. You've made a difference."

Aurelius nodded. "I'm not all bad sometimes. Now you go sort this out, and I'll speak to Bronius myself. I haven't seen him in a long time."

As the Commissioner wheeled to head towards the cells, Tash and Reece left to go and get the cars, but a deep and sonorous voice spoke up suddenly from the back of the group. "I regret to inform you all, sadly, that my participation here is drawing to a close."

"Huh?" Hilda turned. "Champion Alder, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Alder said calmly. "As League Champion, I cannot abandon my duties much longer, even when in pursuit of criminals who threaten my region. I must return to my post, to watch over the region, and I must do my duties. Technically I was supposed to be back this morning..."

"Well," Bastian said, uncertainly, "I'm sure we could cope without you against Giallo, if you wanna return. It'd be tough, I know, but..."

Alder grinned. "Don't be so eager to be rid of me, Corporal Schulz. As Champion I am due in Undella at lunchtime today to hold discussions with the one and only Champion of Sinnoh. I was headed there anyway, so I can definitely come along to help with one last Sage." His grin widened. "And besides, I suppose it saves me the bus ticket."

Looker smiled. "Well then, you're welcome to come and help us out with Giallo, if that is the case. We shall accompany you to your meeting with Cynthia in turn- it's been a while since I've seen her…"

Hilda nodded. "Right! Time to move out and get the endgame started! Team Plasma are going down!"

Buoyed up with confidence, the team headed through the automatic glass doors of the Police HQ, ready to face the penultimate challenge and take down Giallo once and for all. But as the two Lincoln Towncars, driven by Tash and Reece, pulled up in front of the building...

"EEEEEEKKKK! IT'S HIM!"

"THERE HE IS!"

Suddenly the Police team were swamped by a very short crowd of pink T-shirts and, oddly enough, long brown trench-coats. Cloth banners and wooden signs were waving frantically from the small horde of young children and teenagers, all of them clamouring for the attention of one person...

"LOOKER SIGN MY SHIRT!"

"HE IS SO HANDSOME IN REAL LIFE!"

"...What the…?" Looker muttered, stunned by the wall of noise as Reece forced his way through the crowd to grab Looker and pull him into the safety of the Lincoln, but even then young hands scrabbled at the windows to try and get at him.

"What on Earth was that?" Alder asked in a level tone of voice. "I didn't know you were a celebrity as well as a Detective, Looker..."

"Croa..." Croagunk murmured, scarred by the sudden onslaught towards him, and the many hands that had tried to grab him.

"Did you see that?" Reece said, accelerating away rapidly from the crowd as it tried to chase them through the streets of Castelia. "That girl, the Mayor's daughter, the one you saved from the thug? She was there!"

A horrible sinking feeling hit Looker at the realisation as to why Lottie Leeway would be there. "Oh no..."

Alder looked puzzled, flicking through his Xtransceiver. "Hmm. It appears you have a little social media page dedicated to you, Looker. There's a lot of posts here."

"She actually set up a Looker Fan Club, didn't she?" Looker groaned.

Alder nodded, suppressing a smile. "It seems there's a lot of stories about you here Looker. People talking about your personality, your missions... You're getting very popular."

Looker buried his head in his hands as Alder became unable to suppress his laughter, reading increasingly far-fetched rumours and embarrassing little compliments from teenage fangirls out loud. Croagunk's face beside him had gone bright red, his cheek sacs swelling as he cringed- although he had laughed at some of them at first, he'd grown alarmed as they steadily got out of control. This wasn't what they came to Unova for. They wanted to beat Team Plasma, to ensure a region's safety, and it appeared that in coming to Unova they had bitten off more than they could chew.

All Looker could hope for now after the embarrassment was that the mission against Giallo would succeed. Otherwise he'd never live this day down...

 **A/N: Ah, there we go. The wonders of fandom. As a lover of Sherlock, I'm not modelling the Looker Fan Club on the stereotype some of my fellow Sherlock fans seemed to have obtained, I promise. *crosses fingers***

 **Next chapter- what exactly is Giallo trying to pull here? And how will Looker's reunion with an old friend go?**

 **Thank you all for taking the time to read this! If you're feeling kind enough to review, feel free; I'll always be grateful. If you really wanna make my day with a favourite or follow of me or my work, you da real MVP.**

 **Until next time, ya boy, out.**


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